Elland U12’s 24 v 16 Brighouse Rangers U12’s

Elland U12’s 24 v 16 Brighouse Rangers U12’s

Player of the Match: Joel Thurtle
Coaches Player: Austin Hines

Grafter: Kurt Fisher
Grafter: Right Center

Magic Moment: Kurt Fisher, try saving a tackle on the line.

Magic Moment: Dominic Brook, 60m chase-down.

Following two weeks of playing against teams in the division above, Rangers were tasked with making a dent in their league results.
Rangers looked strong with the coaching team selecting the same 1 to 7 as the Queensbury game, last week.
Lukan Fortunato made his debut in the front row whilst regular second-row Christian Williams was unavailable. Will Young stepped into the starting lineup in the second row alongside the formidable Austin Hines.
Young and Hines complimented the strong, front row with George Terry earning his first start of the season at Loose-forward with Domas Flynn taking his turn on the bench.

From kick-off, the signs were good with Scrum-half and Man-of-the-Match, Joel Thurtle skipping past several defenders and heading down the right wing from 60m out, scoring under the posts. Stand-off, Jacob Dewhirst converted.
Following Thurtle’s effort, a second early try came from a destructive run from the Ranger’s big, right centre. Another Dewhirst conversion put the Rangers in a strong position.
Elland woke up and showed a strong attacking attitude with their big, number 17 causing all sorts of problems.
With the luxury of 4 prop-forwards available, Brighouse rotated the front row. Kurt Fisher had another outstanding, defensive game and was rested to allow regular prop, Dexter Alderson to get involved.
Fortunato was solid on his debut with some massive ball-carries which attracted 3 and 4 defenders every time. After a valuable contribution in the middle, Fortunato was rotated and fellow prop, Jack Wenzel entered the field. Wenzel showed improvement and was looking forward to a strong game but was retired early due to a medical issue.

In the second half, one Elland attacking play to the Ranger’s right side had a try looking like a certainty, however, a tremendous cover effort from prop-forward, Fisher, halted the Elland attacker at the line with cover arriving from the Ranger’s big, right centre. Try averted.

Stand-off, Dewhirst, led from the front, once again and recognition from the Elland coach was well deserved. Dewhirst’s kicking game was once again, strong, with one, cross-field kick coming early in the tackle count, collected by the centre, Dylan Greenwood. The play didn’t quite get to the line but Dewhirst’s intentions with the boot were evident and he kicked confidently for the duration.

Midway through the second half at an 18-16 deficit, Rangers needed a try to tip the balance. Thurtle again made a break, this time down the left flank.
The Elland defence was outpaced, bar one….the big 17.
Thurtle kept 17 at bay and when it looked like he was all but caught, a side-step saw him get over the line. The Brighouse touchline erupted but the referee called a knock-on over the line to the dismay of the team, and also to Thurtle who had travelled a good 70m down the field.

In a final attack, the Elland 17 broke again in the centre of the field. From 60m out, the Ranger’s defenders turned to chase but we were all outpaced. From nowhere, hooker, Dominic Brook appeared in centre field on the heels of the big Elland man. Brook was gaining and committed to the chase-down alone but was unable to get hands-on. Brook did not take his foot off the gas until the try had been scored and this effort was rewarded with a Magic Moment award.

George Terry was strong again at Loose-forward but rotated to his native, wing position late in the game. Terry went well in the middle but his aggressive, edge defence stood out after the switch, putting on some strong shots.

Connor Gleeson started the game on the wing and had some strong runs early in the game. Gleeson was rotated and in an unusual move was reintroduced at scrum-half late in the game. Gleeson is a strong three-quarter player but has attributes that allow plenty of movement if needs be.

In another unusual move, coach Dave Flynn moved Riley Knapton from his wing into the Fullback role. Knapton didn’t complain and went straight to work at the back.

The last 5 minutes saw plenty of rotation with hooker Sam Lee moving onto the right wing to cover for Knapton and Alderson finishing the game at Loose-forward. Lee had initially replaced the starting Ranger’s hooker who had given a strong first-half performance with fastball distribution.

Fortunato had a second stint to shore up the middle and starting Fullback, Daniel Greenwood was reintroduced into the pack and slotted in well to finish confidently.
Alderson and Thurtle suffered minor knocks with Pack Leader, Hines taking a break with a head knock.

All in all, the Rangers looked like an improved side. This age group presents testosterone, ego, temper…..and it’s all there to see in big doses, but the bond is there and that click will come.
We go again.