Round 4 - Nottingham vs Wolverhampton

By Andrew Batchelor

The second match in the LLR double header saw the Scorpions run away with the match despite some spirited work by Wolves in the second half

Round 4 saw a double header in the first of the League Lightning Rounds in Manchester. It was a hot day in the sun but Scorpions are used to searing heat!

In their first match the Scorpions took on Sheffield. Scorpions are infamously slow starters to matches and with only two 20 minutes halves to play, it was imperative that we not let our guard down early on. But start slow we did, with little scoring happening in the first 10 minutes by either side. The ball was worked around the middle and constantly turned over. But with our heads getting into it the Scorpions managed to get control with a good lead at half time, Nottingham 4-4-28 to Sheffield 1-6-12. With momentum going our way we kept possession and kept scoring against a resilient Thunder team who never stopped putting on the pressure. The final score was Nottingham 8-9-57 to Sheffield 3-8-26.

The second match against Wolves was immediately after the Sheffield game, working in Scorpions favour by allowing us to take momentum into the start of the game. But the much improved Wolves side put the brakes on us in the first 5 to 10 minutes again limiting our scoring opportunities. Getting our act together we began to dominate the first half ending it 4-4-28 to 1-0-6. The second half saw the Scorpions continue to control the game but some nice work by the Wolves saw them get back a couple of goals on us. But in the end, the Scorpions ran away with the game scoring 11-9-75 to Wolves 3-4-22.

Special mentions go to Rich Lucas for a great day at the office, limiting our oppositions scoring and clearing kicks up to our midfield and forwards. Ash Swift had great games controlling the ball around the midfield, and Adam Biddle and Jamie Swift also made an impact around the midfield and defence, which is where the games were won. A bunch of other boys picked up votes, showing what a team effort the day really was and sharing the work load in the heat. But the best on ground for the two games was Andy Kraefft for top notch rucking and the other controlling factor in the midfield.