MATCH REPORT: MIDLANDS HURRICANES 18 - 31 NORTH WALES CRUSADERS - BETFRED LEAGUE ONE ROUND SIX

Managing Director Eorl Crabtree took over announcing duties on Easter Saturday from James Vukmirovic who was on holiday (Credit: Andy Shaw)

Hurricanes unbeaten run comes to an end at The Alex

A blustery but bright Easter Saturday saw the last two undefeated sides in the three tiers of the professional rugby league period clash at The Alexander stadium in front of a bumper crowd. The home side went into the game top of the Betfred League One table after four wins and a draw from their first five league games, whereas the visitors travelled from Colwyn Bay to Birmingham on the back of three consecutive away wins against Dewsbury, Goole and Workington. The two sides had three competitive clashes last season, and it would not have taken a brave gambler to predict another competitive clash over the Easter Weekend.

In the first five minutes of the game the Canes had two opportunities to open the scoring. The first of those saw Ross Oakes make a half-line break following some passes from left to right, however a number of Crusaders players piled in to drag him into touch ten metres out. Just two minutes later Luis Roberts found himself with an opportunity to score as a high bomb was not dealt with by the Crusaders defence, however the ball bounced too close to Roberts to collect and ground the ball, which lead to a 20-metre restart. A few minutes later the visitors got their first real chance to threaten the Canes line, but some determined defending from the Midlands saw the ball dislodged and possession regained ten metres from our line.

It would take just under 20 minutes for the Canes to break the deadlock, with a neat bullet pass from Jake Sweeting cutting across and finding Ross Oakes, with the centre twisting and turning before eventually placing the ball on the line for his fourth try in as many games (4-0). Jake Sweeting found himself with a difficult conversion from out wide, but his trusty kicking ability saw him nail the attempt between the sticks (6-0). The visitors almost levelled the scores a few minutes later with a cheeky chip attempt in the left-hand corner, however the North Wales attack came to nothing as the ball was bounced on the line and the Canes earned a 7-tackle restart.

Ross Oakes celebrates his try (Credit: Andy Shaw)

Momentum would shift back to the home side shortly thereafter, with Sully Medforth selling a nice dummy from ten metres out but unfortunately spilling the ball just inches from the Crusaders line. Three minutes later Jake Sweeting hit a beautiful 40/20 to earn the home side some much-needed territory, however Crusaders full-back Lloyd Roby elected to boot the ball away in full view of the referee and earned himself a ten-minute spell in the sin-bin. The Canes immediately took full advantage of the extra man as a long looping pass from Sully Medforth found Matty Chrimes in space to slide over in the left-hand corner (10-0). Jake Sweeting found himself with a difficult conversion from out wide, however an accurate swing from the left edge sailed between the posts to give the hosts a two-score lead (12-0).

The final ten minutes of the first half saw Midlands remain largely in control, and perhaps unlucky not to add a third try before the half-time hooter due to the dogged and stubborn defensive efforts of North Wales. However, the winds of change would shift to Crusaders in the dying moments as a speculative looping pass from Jake Sweeting was intercepted by former Coventry Bears player Matt Reid on the hooter, who raced over 50 metres to score just left of the sticks (12-4). Jamie Dallimore was unable to add the extras as the ball drifted wide of the near post, however the visitors went into the changing rooms with some much-needed momentum after a difficult first half.

Half-time: Midlands Hurricanes 12 - 4 North Wales Crusaders

Matty Chrimes celebrates his 100th career appearance with his 7th try of the season! (Credit: Andy Shaw)

The shift in momentum from Matty Reid’s try seemed to roll into the second-half as the visitors came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders. This shift also put Midlands under pressure, with the home side conceding back-to-back penalties and finding themselves needing to defend their line early-on. That pressure eventually turned into points for North Wales, with Jordy Gibson stepping his way through the Canes defence before sliding over to score left of the posts (12-8). Jamie Dallimore had no issues adding the two points from close range (12-10).

Over the next ten minutes, North Wales established their dominance to put themselves in front. Some quick hands from left to right found Super League veteran Patrick Ah Van who shirked off an attempted bundle into touch by Matty Chrimes to slide over in the right-hand corner (12-14). Jamie Dallimore’s conversion attempt from out wide had the legs, but unfortunately (for him) the ball ricocheted off the near post before bouncing back. Five minutes later Crusaders scored again, with a goal-line drop-out conceded by Matty Chrimes presenting Sam Wilde with an easy chance to take a short pass from Ant Walker and barge over from close range (12-18). Despite being in a prime position to convert, Dallimore’s kick rattled the near post once again.

Sully Medforth catches one around the chops from Jamie Dallimore (Credit: Andy Shaw)

Despite being rolled for the first 15 minutes of the second half, the Canes found themselves with a sustained period of possession and momentum until the 60-minute mark. Sully Medforth almost converted this into a third try for the Canes but earned his side a penalty from five metres out as he was caught by a Dallimore high tackle. From the resulting set the Canes attempted to play out wide, however a looping pass from Sweeting was once again intercepted by a North Wales defender. That proved to be a real momentum shift, with the resulting set seeing a grubber kick pounced on by Jordy Gibson for his second of the afternoon (12-22). Dallimore went on to add the extras (12-24).

A little before the 70-minute mark the home side eventually broke the visitors down, as another set on the Crusaders line presented Sully Medforth with the opportunity to throw a behind-the-back pass to Josh Jordan-Roberts who ran right across a left-stepping defence to barge his way over from short-range (16-24). Jake Sweeting was on hand to add his third conversion of the afternoon, and the Canes were within a converted try of levelling the scores (18-24).

Tom Wilkinson celebrating the try that never was (Credit: Andy Shaw)

With a little over six minutes to go, another shift of momentum saw the visitors eventually establish a two-score lead that would prove to be enough to wrap up the win on the day. After making the most of the possession following Jordan-Roberts’ try, the Canes found themselves within metres of the Crusaders line and Tom Wilkinson attempted an acrobatic leap over the North Wales defence to put the ball down. The home team and crowd cheered thinking they had gotten the chance to equalise, but the referee ruled there had been a knock-on and awarded a 7-tackle restart to the visitors. This presented Crusaders with the space they needed to get within 30 metres of the Midlands line, and this was enough for Jordy Gibson to nail an impressive drop-goal (18-25).

As the teams entered the dying moments, the visitors played a professional game and kept Midlands penned into their own half, with a Dallimore bomb kick collected by Chrimes before he was forced to concede a goal-line drop out. That goal-line drop-out proved to be the catalyst for Crusaders sealing the victory, as Welsh international Ant Walker took a short pass and bundled his way through some suspect Canes defending to crash over left of the posts just before the hooter (18-29). Dallimore added the extras for good measure with the final act of the second-half, and that would draw a close on proceedings (18-31).

Full-time: Midlands Hurricanes 18 - 31 North Wales Crusaders

Man of the Match:
Jon-Luke Kirby (sponsored by EJ Interiors Ltd)

Tries:
Ross Oakes, Matty Chrimes and Josh Jordan-Roberts

Conversions:
Jake Sweeting (3/3)

Scoring sequence:
4-0, 6-0, 10-0, 12-0, 12-4, 12-8, 12-10, 12-14, 12-18, 12-22, 12-24, 16-24, 18-24, 18-25, 18-29 and 18-31