Midlands Hurricanes 38-22 Goole Vikings
Betfred Championship Round Sixteen (Rearranged)
By Tom Kiernan-Wilson
Three days after our 6-24 home loss to Swinton Lions, Mark Dunning’s men found themselves hosting Goole Vikings who were also playing their second game in 72 hours after a convincing 50-16 win over Keighley Cougars. That quick turnaround – combined with the fact players of both teams have day jobs and were being asked to play in 35 degree heat – means both teams should be commended for just making Tuesday evening happen.
The hosts started strongly in the opening ten minutes and were rewarded for their efforts as Captain Jon-Luke Kirby took a nice offload from Aiden Roden to canter through a gap and score just right of the sticks (4-0). Sully Medforth – usually fairly accurate from the kicking tee – was unable to add the extras.
Just over five minutes later, Goole struck back as some poor handling gifted the Vikings possession close to the Canes line, leading to Tyler Craig bouncing off some rushed tackling to crash over left of the posts (4-4). Mackenzie Harman would convert (4-6).
The Canes could have nudged themselves back in front just a few minutes later as Aidan McGowan made an impressive break before a seemingly perfect pass to a supporting Matty Chrimes was pulled back for a forward pass. Due to the sweltering conditions, the first of two agreed hydration breaks (no adverts!) took place on 20 minutes.
Goole came out of the break firing, as a break from the resulting scrum would eventually see the ball fed to Keenan Tomlinson, who finished down the right edge (4-10). Harman was unable to convert. About five minutes later Goole would extend their lead further, as our inability to deal with a high kick on the last coughed up some much needed territory that allowed Connor Barley to score down the left edge (4-14). Jack Miller would nail an impressive conversion from out wide (4-16).
This would seemingly wake Midlands back up, as only five minutes later we would bounce back with a nice attacking effort that put centre Ryan Johnson in space to cut through a gap close to the line and move inwards before dotting the ball down (8-16). Medforth would add the extras (10-16). That would be the last of the action before the half-time hooter.
The second half saw the home side fly out of the blocks, and only two minutes into the contest the Canes thought they had equalised through Toby Warren before the move was chalked off for an earlier knock-on (albeit we would be awarded a penalty for an earlier late hit on Medforth).
It would only take another two minutes to equalise, as a loose carry 20 metres from the Goole line saw some quick hands feed the ball to James Woodburn-Hall, who darted through a gap and reached out to score just left of the posts (14-16), putting Medforth in good position to nail the conversion (16-16).
Five minutes later, the Canes regained the lead. Some strong carrying close to the Goole line would see Ollie Roberts in space, and after some wayward tackling attempts the second-rower found himself with space to crash over despite Tom Halliday’s best attempts to stop him (20-16). Medforth was unable to convert from out wide.
The visitors responded strongly to this initial onslaught, and over the course of ten minutes had two opportunities to regain the lead. The first – off the back of an impressive grubber – was only stopped by some good scrambling in defence, and the second was almost a gift courtesy of a wayward pass close to our own line that was eventually grounded in our in-goal. A second hydration break would follow.
As the sides entered the final ten minutes, the Canes’ fitness and determination seemed to prove the difference as they pulled away. The first of three late tries would come off the back of a speedy Ryan Johnson to Cian Tyrer, who raced down the left edge to score (24-16). Sully would nail the conversion, and in doing so would surpass Dan Coates’ 147 points in 2021 to become the player to score the most points for the Canes in a single season (26-16).
Two minutes later, the Canes went back to back as some quick hands from right to left saw Todd Horner in plenty of space to cruise through a gap to seemingly put the game beyond doubt (30-16). Sully would once again convert close to the touchline (32-16).
Goole would not go down quietly however, and despite some excellent defending stopping a certain try in the left corner the Vikings would eventually break through some tired defence as Brad Bullock crashed over under the sticks (32-20) and Harman added the extras (32-22).
We would eventually have the final word just before the hooter, as an impressive run by Zeus Silk would put Ethan Newboult in place to feed Tyler Dickinson to charge and twist his way over before putting the ball down under the posts (36-22). Sully would add the extras just after the hooter (38-22).
A welcome return to winning form for the Canes, who would climb over Batley Bulldogs into 8th place. We now have just over two weeks off before we travel to Mount Pleasant to face the Bulldogs for our return fixture, hoping to emulate the form that saw us 30-12 winners at Avery Fields earlier in the season.
Man of the Match:
James Woodburn-Hall (Sponsored by Monarch’s Mutts Dog Rescue)
Tries:
Kirby, Johnson, Woodburn-Hall, O Roberts, Tyrer, Horner and Dickinson
Cons:
Medforth (5/7)
