WARRINGTON WIZARDS 48 OUTLAWS 14
Report by Richard Johnson
Nottingham Outlaws suffered defeat yet again when they were on the end of a 48-14 defeat at the hands of second placed Warrington Wizards. It was the Outlaws 4th successive loss and whilst the defeat was ultimately a heavy one, there were still a number of positives that could be taken from the game.
Once again coach Martin Crick went into the match with a host of changes, indeed the injury crisis at the club forced the hard-pressed coaching staff to call up another 5 debutants to first team rugby to replace an ever lengthening injury list. Into the squad came debutants William Reeve, David Dyson, Jens Harris, Dan Green and Shane Wright for their first games at National League level whilst Nathan Crichton pulled on an Outlaws shirt for the first time in 18 months. They were joined by centre Chris McNamara who missed last weeks defeat by Bramley.
The match started with both teams battling for field position and it was Warrington who made the early running, capitalising on a series of Outlaws errors to set up camp in the Nottingham half. Indeed in the opening 10 minutes the Outlaws failed to complete their sets on 6 consecutive occasions as a series of errors kept them firmly under the cosh. However, good defence kept the Wizards at bay and the match remained scoreless despite the Wizards dominance.
However, the Chesire outfit did not reach second place in the division for nothing! They clearly know the way to the try line and when the Outlaws gifted them yet another set on the back of a penalty for not standing square, the Wizards finally opened their account as centre Gilmore ghosted in for the opening score to make it 4-0 to the home team.
Stung by this reversal the plucky Outlaws roared back and after being on the back foot for most of the opening quarter they finally gained field position in the Wizards red zone and they quickly opened their account as a bullet-like pass from Oliver Crick found Dom Walsh in space out wide and the evasive centre didn't need a second invitation as he scorched over to level the score at 4-4.
Unfortunately the Outlaws were only on level terms for the briefest of moments as less than 2 minutes later the Wizards put in a long kick and chase from a scrum on the edge of their own 20. Somehow they managed to reclaim the ball in the ensuing melee before going over for a try that put the Wizards 8-4 up as the match reached the mid-way point in the first stanza.
With the match in the balance, neither side seemed able to put in the killer blow as the game flowed from end to end, indeed the Outlaws might have taken a shock lead when good pressure orchestrated by half backs Crick and Calland almost saw rookie second rower Jens Harris crash over, only to be hauled down just short. The impressive debutant's agony was compounded further when he twisted his ankle in the process and was destined to take no further part in the game!
With the Outlaws having the ascendancy it seemed likely that they would go into the half time break only 4 points adrift, but disaster struck just before the interval as back to back penalties piggy-backed the home team into the Outlaws red zone and fast hands saw the Wizards score in the corner to give them a somewhat flattering 12-4 lead at half time, after what had been a very entertaining opening 40 minutes of rugby league football.
The opening phases of the second stanza saw the Outlaws take the game to the home team and great play by Millward and Humphries allowed Calland space to put in a huge up and under that bounced free. Winger Ali Waring pounced, but just failed to ground the ball before it ran over the dead ball line.
The brief period of Outlaws pressure was short lived and within a minute they fell further behind as Warrington second rower Stubbs capitalised on some poor tackling on the Outlaws line to crash over the whitewash and stretch the home lead to 18-4.
Back came the Outlaws again and some gutsy work in the forwards again by Millward and Humphries saw the ball reach Calland and this time the midfield maestro put in a deft grubber kick that held up beautifully in the Wizards red zone, allowing young full-back Will Reed time to pounce for a fine try on his Outlaws debut. Calland added the extras and at 18-10 the Outlaws were back in the match!
Having done the hard work and dragged themselves back into the frame, the Outlaws immediately pressed the slf destruct button and in a horrendous 20 minute period of play they leaked no fewer than 4 tries without reply!
The home side were helped on their way by some sloppy Outlaws defending and a couple of lucky bounces as the game swung dramatically in the Wizards favour. Indeed, 2 of the 4 tries came from loose balls that saw the statuesque Outlaws defenders rooted to the spot as the more alert wizards gave the hesitant Outlaws a lesson in how to finish.
With the Outlaws trailing 42-10 and with 10 minutes left on the clock, it seemed only a matter of time before the Wizards hit the half century but to their credit the Outlaws refused to throw in the towel and they continued to defend their line, keeping the rampant home team out when more tries seemed certain.
Finally the Outlaws hard work was rewarded when centre Chris McNamara popped up on a short pass from the play the ball to charge over from short range to cap a fine performance from the elusive centre. Indeed, the hard working Loughborough student went on to bag a much deserved man of the match award for a great afternoons work.
With the clock ticking down the Outlaws launched yet another attack but this time they came unstuck as the Wizards intercepted a loose Outlaws pass in the centres to score under the posts to close-out the game with the scoreboard showing a commanding 48-14 scoreline in the Warrington teams favour.
Despite the defeat, coach Martin Crick remained philosophical, adding "Once agin we battled hard and I cannot fault the team for effort and sheer guts. However, a slack period of play after the break cost us dearly and whilst Warrington were worthy winners, there is no way that the score reflected the match as the difference between the two teams was never that great"
Next Saturday the Outlaws entertain Featherstone Lions at The Bay (kick off 3.00pm) hoping to end their 4 match losing streak and avenge a narrow 20-10 defeat at the hands of the Yorkshiremen back in May.
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