Wolves U19s Suffer Opening Round Defeat
Warrington Wolves U19s 16 Castleford Tigers U19s 28
Report by Dave Whalley
Warrington Wolves Under 19s suffered an opening day defeat as they were beaten by Castleford Tigers at Wilderspool Stadium on this afternoon (Saturday).
It all seemed to be going to plan early on as the Wolves built up a ten point lead but a sterling fightback by Castleford in the closing fifteen minutes of the first half turned the game on its head and they kept their composure well in the second half to run out worthy winners despite the Wolves never giving up.
The Wolves opened the scoring in the seventh minute when, from close to the line, loose forward Ben Currie spotted a gap on the blind side on the last tackle and found winger Jack Johnson who went over in the right corner. Full back Scott Turner converted and then six minutes later great hands by the Wolves saw them keep the ball alive through seven players and the ball eventually reached winger Marcus Elliott who managed to roll out of an attempted tackle and stretch over to score in the left corner.
The Tigers hit back on twenty seven minutes when a great fifty metre break by second row Shaun Pick split the Wolves' defence and a quick play the ball saw an overlap on the left for centre Tommy Newbould to go over in the corner. Stand off Ben Reynolds added the conversion and then just after the half hour a lovely short ball from scrum half Zak Snellgrove put second row Luke Day over on the right. Reynolds converted to give his side the lead.
Three minutes before the break the visitors increased their advantage when a high kick on the last tackle by Reynolds wasn't dealt with by the Wolves and hooker Casey Canterbury collected the loose ball and went over under the posts. Reynolds goaled to give the Tigers an 18-10 half time lead.
The Wolves got themselves back into the game eight minutes after the break when after substitute Daniel Murray had been held just short, fellow substitute Ryan Maneely found Currie from acting half back to score on the left. Turner converted but then four minutes later the Tigers responded when, from a penalty on the Wolves' ten metre line, prop forward Nathan Hammond brushed off some weak defence to score on the right.
The Tigers continued to control the game and they went further ahead when Canterbury spotted a gap from dummy half and managed to force his way over on the right. Reynolds converted to give Castleford a twelve point advantage which proved to be more than enough, as despite some late Wolves pressure the Tigers defence held firm to register an impressive and fully deserved 28-16 victory.
After the game Wolves Under 19s head coach Gary Chambers said: "That was a pretty tough start for our first game. The most important thing for us to take from the game is the experience that we will have gained. We had a number of young lads in the side against an experienced Castleford team but this will have done them no harm at all. We didn't build enough pressure at the crucial times but that is down to the inexperience we had; we will look at the video in the week and sort this out. Castleford were very enthusiastic and they capitalised on our errors on numerous occasions. We need to be more methodical and play our way back into games rather than panic. There is plenty for us to work on and we will definitely be better for having had this game. We will work hard in the week and look forward to the game at Wigan Warriors next Saturday."
Warrington
Scott Turner, Jack Johnson, James Saltonstall, Tom Battye, Marcus Elliott, Declan Patton, Daniel Hirst, Micky Learmonth, Andy Ackers, Joe Collins, Gavin Bennion, Joe Philbin, Ben Currie
Subs: Ryan Maneely, Toby King, Robert Holroyd, Daniel Murray
Tries: Johnson (7 mins), Elliott (13), Currie (48)
Goals: Turner 2 from 3
Castleford
Kane Riley, Jamie Graves, Jordan Gill, Tommy Newbould, Billy Nodder, Ben Reynolds, Zak Snellgrove, Nathan Hammond, Casey Canterbury, Ryan Backhouse, Luke Day, Shaun Pick, Brad Foster
Subs: Lewis Farr, Brad Hay, Jordan Anderson, Ben Passmore
Tries: Newbould (27 mins), Day (31), Canterbury (37, 65), Hammond (54)
Goals: Reynolds 4 from 5
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Super League XVIII Round 1: Warrington Wolves v Castleford Tigers, tomorrow at The Halliwell Jones Stadium, kick-off 3pm
The WolfWare store and ticket office windows will open from 12pm, with turnstiles opening at 1.30pm. Tickets are required for the seated areas but there will be some cash turnstiles on the South and West standing areas.
The new supporters wall is being unveiled at the stadium at 12.30pm.
There will be a minutes applause before the game to remember Warrington Hall of Famer Dave Chisnall who passed away recently.
02, Feb, 2013
