Hunslet Warriors vs ORL Pre-season Training Match.

ORL three first half tries were enough to squeeze past National Conference One outfit Hunslet Warriors in a 14-6 victory.

Tom Davies, Josh Scott and Simon Price crossed for the away side inside the opening 24 minutes to give them a 14-point advantage. Gary McClelland touched down for the hosts on the stroke of half-time, the only time the home team kept the scoreboard operator busy.
Johnny Payne had a try disallowed for Oxford 10 minutes into the second half, the closest either side came to preventing a scoreless second 40. The opening 15 minutes saw plenty of mistakes from both teams due to the extremely cold and wet weather conditions. Oxford eventually kept their composure to register the opening points of the afternoon when Davies barged his way over from close range. Danny Allan, a former Leeds Rhinos youngster, added the extras to make it 6-0. Four minutes later, they away side made it 10-0. Allan used the conditions to his advantage, with his kick along the ground causing problems for the Warriors defence. Scott swooped on the loose ball to score. The Warriors finished the half the stronger side during the final 10 minutes, applying plenty of pressure on their visitors. Pressure turned into points just before the referee’s whistle to end the half, Caldon Bravo slipped his way through the Oxford defence to set up McClelland for a walk-in try. The full-back turned his four points into six, cutting the deficit to eight points.

Hunslet began the second half the same way they finished the first. However, they were unsuccessful in their hunt for more points. Expansive play culminated in the ball finding the right-hand touchline. Oxford thought they had sealed the win as the influential Allan sent Payne over, only to be denied by the referee for a forward pass. Tony Drury, the new head coach of the Hunslet Warriors, will have been pleased with the way his side finished the game. Ben Gayle’s 40/20, followed by back-to-back penalties, saw the Warriors camp on Oxford’s line, but they weren’t able to make it a tense finish.

Roll on Dewsbury Rams match.

COYB's