Willenhall V Burntwood match review

By Mark Austin

Willenhall 5 - 40 Burntwood

Saturday saw us host Burntwood in our final seniors preseason friendly. The game was largely a trial game, with the squad again looking different from the previous 2 friendlies in many respects. The coaches wanted to try some players out in different positions, see how players performed in different combinations and so this game again was a learning curve - preseason was the ideal opportunity to do this. Although the team finished on the wrong end of the score line, coaches of both teams agreed that it wasn’t a true reflection of the closeness between the teams. Despite Burntwood running in some tries, they did have to work hard for them. Our near neighbours narrowly missed out on promotion last year so it was always going to be a testing game. A review of the video footage suggests there are many positives to take away but obviously and more importantly, areas to work on which the squad are all in agreement on. There’s still hard work to be done.

Coach Gavin Jones said “Yes, I was disappointed to lose and especially disappointed to concede the tries, but we played a very good, well drilled and experienced team who are one of the better teams in the league above us. Everyone who played gave their all from the start to the finish and you cant ask for more than that. On reflection and having watched a lot of video footage from the game, I'm actually really positive with how things are going.”

With reinforcements due back in the front row and players coming back from injury and other commitments, plans are still on track and looking positive for a successful season. The coaches have already stated that this game was not necessarily the squad for next week’s opening league game so it’s still all to play for in training. Nobody should be despondent and there’s definitely no room for complacency.

1 Adam Wordley
2 Luke Marrocco
3 Kieran Parker
4 James Malone
5 Allan Moore
6 Josh Brown
7 Luke Jelfs
8 Ian Sidebotham
9 George Pearson
10 Jack Timothy
11 Tom Reynolds
12 Daniel Nightingale
13 Chris Grantham
14 Tim Rawlins
15 Sam Bowles
16 Jamie Banks
17 Paul Smith
18 Arron Brownbill
19 Greg Rhodes
20 Nathan Mini Evans
21 Brad Smith

Tries - Chris Grantham

Training continues on Tuesday and Thursday in preparation for next weekend’s opening league games

1st - Aston Old Edwardians (Home)
2nd - Wolverhampton 3rds (Home)

Updated 13:05 - 30 Aug 2019 by Mark Austin

Where next?

Elfyn Pugh Veterans Match Elfyn Pugh British Empire Medal Veterans match
What’s on this weekend? Last preseason friendly

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