Lofty's Match Report - Leos v Goole

Leos match report 08/10/11
Leos 45 Goole 0

Leos consolidate place at the top of the table

As the autumn weather started to declare itself, Leos welcomed Goole to the Cragg this weekend. Leos were fresh from a win against Bradford Salem and keen to consolidate their place at the top of table, while Goole were looking for their first points of the season after a narrow defeat by West Leeds the week before.

The Leos boys were buoyed by an early visit from the team tailor and looked resplendent in their new blazers. However, ‘on-pitch’ fashion had to take a back seat as a clash of team colours meant that the playing kit needed to be changed. The thinner members of the team opted to reverse kits for an all white look instead of breaking out the loose-fit white kit, much to the dismay of the front row.

The team included a few forced changes due to injury and a couple of shrewd tactical moves form Messrs Greenwood and Worral to bring a bit of extra intensity into the back line and front row. Jack ‘Rabbit’ Haire started at scrum half with top scorer Jimmy Henry outside him. Dave Barden made his debut in the centre (his fourth position this year) alongside Monty. Sleights, Baker and Bindloss lined up as the back three. In the front row, Lofty and Jamie Scott joined ‘Big’ Dave Robinson. Jordache and JD resumed duties in the boiler room, while Fffforde moved into the back row to join Lenny and Will Levitt. A strong bench included Rich ‘Ding-dong’ Bell, Pete Robbins and the ‘Enforcer’ Si Worrall.

Leos got off to a good start and dominated the contact area in the early stages. There were line breaks from Lenny, Fforde, Jordache, Barden and Monty but Goole defended well and kept a lid on the Leos attack. Baker and Sleights almost made the corners on a number of occasions, with Bardon reaching almost terminal velocity before being edged out of play. As Leos began to build pressure, Big Dave crashed through the centres but was held up by six Goole players. This led to a five-metre scrum that was pushed back by a rampant front row over the Goole line, with Lenny picking up the points at the base. Goole fought back with some strong running from their back row but were contained by an organized Leos defense. Leos continued to dominate in set play and round the breakdown with some sterling work from Jaime Scott, Lofty, JD and Will Levitt. Scores from the Baker sidestep and scrum half Jack Haire made it 21-0 at half time.

After the break both sides demonstrated some excellent handling skills in the increasingly wet conditions. Goole enlisted the help of Daniel Radcliffe at number 10 but not even the magic of Hogwarts was enough to tame a rabid Jimmy Henry. Pete Robbins came on for Big Dave and helped Leos to a second pushover try, with Lenny claiming another five points at the base. Sleights made a terrific line break and ran 40 metres before offloading to Barden who took the ball through the fullback to score. Worral and Rich Bell then replaced Barden and Lenny. Both made excellent ground with ball in hand and Worral put in some massive hits to silence any ideas of Goole coming back into the game. Stu Baker crashed through for a second try and after Tom Bindloss cut through the Goole defence like butter from deep in Leos territory. As the game drew to a close the scoring was completed with Jimmy Henry creeping round the Breakdown to score past a beleaguered Goole pack. Final score 45-0.

Leos have now kept a clean sheet in three out of seven games this season and remain top of Yorkshire 2. Elsewhere in the league Doncaster Phoenix drew with Bradford Salem, Skipton drew at West Park and Wath beat Yarnbury. Next week our campaign continues away at Doncaster Phoenix.

Peter Loughenbury