The blue and golds were able to field possibly their strongest starting lineup in many a year.
Beverley faced a Cottingham Tigers outfit that is very much in a re-building phase following last season’s demise from the Premeier Division. These two factors contributed to a comprehensive thrashing by home side at the Beverley Leisure Centre.
Coach Pat Howdle again had a very large squad to select from and handed out a couple of debuts. Gavin Molloy a former player down at Beverley in the National Conference days back in the late 1990s was placed on the bench. Former Beverley Braves player Glen Anfield was drafted into the stand off half position and helped himself to a debut hat-trick.
Commenting on the game Howdle said;
“It was a great performance from 1 to 17, the forwards laid the platform and the backs scored the tries. Our goal was not to let them score and we achieved it could not ask for more.”
Beverley started quickly and were soon on the scoreboard when Jack Howdle decided to take on the defence close to the line and score for Watkin to add on the extras. The visitors then enjoyed their best attacking spell of the game as they camped out in the Beverley 20 meter gaining a couple of repeat sets.
This was brief respite for the visitors as Beverley then denied their opponents possession for ten solid minutes and promptly blew them away.
Glen Anfield weighed in with a try following some quick hands before scoring his second. This was a stunning effort which saw a miracle offload from Louis Hubbard send him the remaining 50 meters to score beneath the posts. Anfield was then instrumental in another slick handling movement that sent Adam Robson over. Ryan Watkin added a further try to stretch the lead to 26-0 in as many minutes.
The visitors stemmed the flow a little until the break approached. The hosts forced a line drop-out, and the resultant set saw a smart switch of play to the blind side to send Daryl Gregory over. Gregory then got his second when a peach of a long ball from Glen Anfield found him lurking out on the wing. Watkin converted for a 36-0 interval lead.
Shortly after the break Anfield looked to have sent Poskett away for a try, but a forward pass was ruled. However, Louis Hubbard made no mistake a few minutes later when he went over choosing to ignore options to the left and right of him.
The momentum continued when a Ryan Watkin break set up the position for Anfield to ship the ball out for Craig Morfitt to go over in the corner. Watkin was then on hand to pick up the ball following some loose play to evade several defenders and some impressive fends to score out wide again. He converted as the home side passed the half-century mark.
Again the visitors stemmed the flow a little before there was a final burst of scoring in the closing stages. Adam Robson was on hand to send Josh Poole over in the corner after some deft handling from one side to another. A break from the strong running Craig Morfitt created the havoc in the visitors defensive line. A quick play the ball shipped it out to Louis Hubbard for him to score his second.
Finally on the stroke of full time the try of the match was scored. Full back Lee Falcus who is now playing some of his best rugby fielded a kick downfield. He ran the ball out evaded a few defenders on the way which saw him in the clear. He capped off the afternoon by drawing the full back perfectly to send Glen Anfield under the posts for his hat-trick. Anfield resumed the kicking responsibilities and converted his own try and rounded off a man of the match performance.
This was another pleasing afternoon in terms of execution in attack and a defensive clean sheet but coach Pat Howdle knows there are tougher tests ahead. Beverley ARLC is now without a game for a fortnight due to the Super League Grand Final.
Off the pitch Louis Hubbard is due to attend a Hull & District disciplinary meeting following his sending off in the Hull Dockers game, and the club are hopeful that the verdict will not be too harsh as the offence was not unprovoked.
Final Score : Beverley ARLC 66 Cottingham Tigers 0 | Reported by Nick Robinson
