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Superleague XV - Round 2
5th February 2010
Kicked to Death
For the second week running we had bizarre weather conditions for summer rugby as the ground was shrouded in an eerie mist which the pre-match entertainment struggled to break through. As the teams arrived on the field they were enveloped in the fog that chilled to the bone, not exactly conducive to open rugby.
Kylie Leuluai was this weeks 'rested player' with Luke Burgess getting the nod over Watkins. Webb and Peacock were back and the squad looked about as strong as it could for the visit of our country cousins in their first outing of the season.
Cas threw everything that they had at us early on and we sat back and absorbed the pressure. In a near mirror-image of last week both sides prodded and probed but for the opening twenty minutes neither looked likely to score. There were some forced errors but the first quarter of the game was punctuated by a number of crunching tackles, an early one seeing Carl Ablett off the field not to return.
On twenty-two we got the opener and the rarest of sights, a try given by the in-goal judge who overruled the referee. A Sinfield chip over the top looked to have been pushed dead by a Tigers defender but as the whole ground looked to the drop-out the in-goal judge got the referees attention and informed him that Danny McGuire had touched down first. Silence, then a muted cheer greeted the opening try and Sinfield added the extras for 6-0.
Ineffectual
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On thirty-four the Tigers were level thanks to a nice grubber kick which turned the Rhinos defence inside out and Evans got the final touch to score. Huby kicked the extras for 6-6.
It looked like we'd go into half-time all square at sixes (for the second week running) but with two minutes left on the clock Cas spilled the ball and Leeds picked it up taking a couple of tackles before the ball found Delaney to run the angle and score. Sinfield failed to convert but a 10-6 half-time lead felt about right.
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The half-time thinking was that the Tigers had played well but that they must tire as the game got to it's later stages. The game was there for the taking and we were reasonably comfortable.
Within seconds of the second half starting JJB broke downfield and passed to Diskin who looked certain to score but spilled the ball on the Tigers ten metre line. A gilt edged chance had gone begging, and possibly on that point the game turned.
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On forty-six Delaney pulled up and left the field with what looked like a hamstring injury and now we were down to two subs, this would take some effort.
As Leeds tried to re-organise from the disruption their disorganisation allowed Westerman to score a solo try from twenty metres out, right next to the sticks. His conversion gave his side the lead for the first time on the night at 12-10 and they wouldn't look back.
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Lasted 5 minutes
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Every time you thought that the Rhinos might get back into it they either did something stupid or came up against an impenetrable defence. I can't remember a game where we were forced into so many goal-line dropouts, at times we looked like we were hitting an invisible wall on our forty-metre line.
On fifty-seven another grubber kick undid us and this time Sherwin touched down as the Rhinos defence looked on. Westerman goaled and the game was starting to drift, and Leeds started to play panic football as Cas calmly frustrated us.
Leeds did enjoy some ball in the Cas twenty but just like the first half of last season, we didn't seem to know what to do to finish.
With three minutes left, and the game already lost, Widders crossed off an inside pass and when Westerman goaled for a deserved 24-10 win for the visitors their supporters celebrated like they'd won the Grand Final.
All credit to Cas, they came, they played extremely well, and they took the two points. Worryingly we had no answer to their kicking game, fast play-the-ball and slowing of our play. Out-thought and out-played.
On the up side, the season is only two weeks old, we weren't going to go through it unbeaten, and we have plenty of time to get our act together. On the down side we look like missing Ablett and Delaney for what could be a good few weeks, and that could be costly.
Wakefield next week, back on the bike!
Man of the Match Poll
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Points | Player | % |
9 | Delaney | 24% |
9 | Jones-Buchanan | 24% |
4 | Buderus | 12% |
4 | McGuire | 12% |
4 | Peacock | 12% |
4 | Sinfield | 12% |
1 | Bailey | 6% |
See here for season standings.
Match Facts
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No.
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Player
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T
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G
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DG
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No.
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Player
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T
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G
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DG
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1
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Webb
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23
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McGoldrick
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2
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Donald
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1
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Owen
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3
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Delaney
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1
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3
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Shenton
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4
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Senior
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4
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Evans
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1
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5
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Hall
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5
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Wainwright
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6
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McGuire
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1
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6
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Chase
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7
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Burrow
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7
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Sherwin
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1
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16
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Bailey
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|
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16
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Jackson
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9
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Buderus
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9
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Hudson
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10
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Peacock
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15
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Higgins
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11
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Jones-Buchanan
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11
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Ferres
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18
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Ablett
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12
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Snitch
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13
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Sinfield
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1
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13
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Westerman
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1
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3
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14
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Diskin
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14
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Jones
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15
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Eastwood
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8
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Sargent
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12
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Lauiti'iti
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25
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Widders
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1
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19
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Burgess
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23
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Huby
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1
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Kick Off:
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20:00
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Half-Time:
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10-06
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Referee:
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Ian Smith
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Crowd:
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15,875
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