Recap
The Championship season has drawn to an end with an exciting fixture between bottom teams Hunslet Hawks and the York City Knights this was certain to give the fans something to talk about and whoever was victorious today also relieved themselves of finishing up with the wooden spoon.
As the whistle blew to kick off the game the Hawks were right up for it a more confident team graced the field and they looked to be controlling things, 3 minutes on the clock and Hunslet had a play set up. Clayton broke through first and offloaded to Nathaniel, Josh showed the experience he had gained this season and drew the defenders in towards him before giving a ball out to Kainy to finish it off, a brilliant opening set, converted by Helliwell from the touch line the side were off to a good start. The attack was not the only thing impressing the crowds though, the defence also seemed to have picked up and individual efforts from Lee Brickwood and Luke Haigh saw them handling the York forwards with confidence holding them up on the line, twice relieving the pressure for their team mates. Back on track for another try the dry conditions saw more accurate and effective ball handling but as it reached Helliwell out on the right wing he took his chance, danced through the defenders, and popped it out to prop Steve Lewis who powered through and put it down under the sticks, a very promising start but a 15 minute break in play allowed the Knights to recompose and a string of poor decisions along with lazy defence after the restart saw the York half back scoot over the line to give the home side a shot of getting back into it, unconverted it didn’t seem to have knocked the Hawks and the fans cheered as they looked certain to have bounced back with a try of their own, Welham had broke clear away with only the fullback to deal with ignoring the calls from Tuffour outside him cost us big time as the ball came loose from his hands in a challenge with Jack Aldous. This mistake was forgivable though as 2 minutes later the boys were back and causing trouble in York territory they had passed the ball around and created a gap refusing to give up this time Welham managed to dive over and get the points he owed his side, Helliwell pushed it just wide for the first time this afternoon but the Hawks headed to half time happy, with an 16-4 advantage play signs looked promising.
A similar performance to the first half looked possible, when not even a minute had passed when Oakesy with a surging run cleared half of the pitch, he had really shaken the Knights up today ,with defenders clinging to him he offloaded to Welham who was there in support scoring his second an almost mirror try to the last one. The Hawks may have taken an early lead but the battle for 9’th place was certainly still on and York wasted no time responding as an inside ball saw ex Hawk Waine Pryce cutting open the line as he raced across the whitewash to give the Knights just the boost they needed. But it was Dennis Tuffour who refused to be beaten on pace, glued to his touch line he sprinted through for one of his own and the score board was shaken again. The next sets proved intense for Hunslet as they struggled with possession, giving away penalties granting York field position and they made no mistake crossing the line twice in 10 minutes, just a converted try now the difference no one could predict the outcome, Hunslet battled back though and courtesy of skipper David March managed to reward themselves with a penalty, Helliwell was under pressure but did a brilliant job and landed it right between the posts; just on the hooter the Hawks again suffered the whistle of the officials, as Knights winger Jack Lee was awarded a try in the corner despite being in an offside position at the kick. The Hawks remained professional and were relieved when the full time hooter blew at a tight score of 28-26.
A very difficult season for all involved down at South Leeds but the effort and display from the Hawks side today reflected just how hard Barry and the boys have worked and a very much deserved victory also meant that we hadn’t finished bottom of the table.
Hopefully a much more positive and successful season in 2013 with some already fantastic signings along with the Leeds Rhinos partnership things are already looking up.
For the final time this season – Well done to Barry and the boys.
Hunslet RLFC Line up
1. Stuart Kain
Sponsored by: Beth Hampshire
2. Lee Mapals
Sponsored by: Leeds Bacon Company Ltd
3. Josh Nathaniel
4. Liam Welham
Sponsored by: Adrian Jinks
5. Lee Brickwood
Sponsored by: Eric Simon
6. Luke Helliwell
Sponsored by: Jewson, Leeds
7. Ben Karalius
Sponsored by: Available call 0113 2712730
8. Luke Menzies
Sponsored by: Fred & Jane Hopkins
9. Luke Haigh
Sponsored by: Elliott & Ewan Green
10. Steve Lewis
Sponsored by: Leeds Bacon Company Ltd
11. David Clayton
Sponsored by: Barry & Norma Harding
12. John Oakes
Sponsored by: Leeds Bacon Company Ltd
13. David March
Sponsored by: A & R Construction
14. Joe Mclocklan
Sponsored by: Yorkshire Signs
15. Dennis Tuffour
Sponsored by: Kenny Sykes
16. Andrew Yates
Sponsored by: Village Urban Resorts South Leeds
17. Ryan Benjafield
Sponsored by: Eric Simon
Timeline
04:00 Stuart Kain Try
05:00 Luke Helliwell Goal
16:00 Steve Lewis Try
17:00 Luke Helliwell Goal
32:00 Liam Welham Try
41:00 Liam Welham Try
42:00 Luke Helliwell Goal
56:00 Dennis Tuffour Try
72:00 Luke Helliwell Goal