Hemel Stags vs West Hull
Stags 6 Hull 48
Location:
Pennine Way
December 13th 2009
Stephen Marshall, Kieran Dixon, Aaron Small, Mustafa Ali, Will Lovell, Courtney Watson, George Stevens, Cameron Furlong, Jack Kavanagh, Erik Grimley, Tom Grange, Warren Grange, Callum Hurley, Connor Boyd-Barnes, Dion Chapman, Erik Grimley
The good news for this very young and inexperienced Stags side concerned the number of players that were available. As a result of the postponed game against Castleford last week, a couple of players were able to return to the squad after short-term injuries. In addition a new player has been officially registered to the club, with another player due to be available to play next week, so the immediate player number crisis seems to be under at least some degree of control.
However, the above would seem to be the only “Good news” on offer for the Stags at present, as despite some good individual performances on the day from a number of players the overall team performance simply did not get off the ground!
The match was basically “one way traffic” with a number of spells during which the visitors were successfully held at bay for periods of 10-15 minutes at a time. The Stags rarely got the ball and when they occasionally did win control of the ball, they simply gave it away due to a string of unforced handling errors.
The start the match was very poor with a very determined Hull side being allowed to score 4 soft tries in the first 15 minutes, which effectively handed this match to the worthy victors.
Stags did rally in the second half and demonstrated some a degree of courage, commitment and pride in order to limit the second half result to a much more respectable points score of (6: 16).
The contest was truly a case of “Men V boys”, as the West Hull team were:
------Bigger (On average a year older).
------Stronger (Simply goes with the age).
------More experienced (Players with 5 or 6 extra years experience each in RL).
Resulting in a much better and more efficiently drilled squad.
The difference between the two sides could not have been more clearly demonstrated, than in the clubhouse after the match.
(A) The Stags lads were “drinking cola”.
(B) The West Hull side were “legally drinking pints of Lager”.
Paul Marshall
Hemel Stags.
Half time: 0 - 32
Ref: John Cadogan
Hemel Man of the Match: Kieran Dixon