Scorpions vs Huddersfield - Game 2

The Scorpions were keen to cement their place in the final by turning over the Rams at home but Huddersfield had other plans.

The Scorpions didn't really bother to show up in the first half with the Rams taking complete control, scoring almost at will and opening a massive lead. It seems we've gotten complacent with the great start to the season since we had our best team on the pitch and did nothing to stop the onslaught. The Scorpions scored just 2 goals from only 6 attempts in probably the worst half of footy the team has ever played. The half ended Huddersfield 10-8-68 to Nottingham 2-4-16.

But something I've maintained over the season is that the Scorpions are the best finishers in the league, we've proved that on many occassions. What we needed was a kick up the backside in the form of a no bullshit pep talk from Luke Wilmott. It inspired the boys to put in the hard yards and fight for each possession. We call it physicality, Huddersfield called it bullying. The result...Huddersfield were stopped dead in their tracks and kept scoreless, yes scoreless!, in the third quarter while the Scorpions had 12 shots at goal. Unfortunately, inaccuracy plagued the boys and we only converted 2 of those shots into more goals. But we closed the gap and showed Huddersfield we weren't out of it yet, ending the quarter Huddersfield 10-8-68 to Nottingham 4-14-38. The final quarter was more evenly contested with both teams tiring after the pace of the half and the Scorpions unable to close the gap any further, ending the match Huddersfield 12-12-84 to Nottingham 6-19-55. The only difference in the end was accuracy in goal kicking and Huddersfield getting a few more from right in front of goal in the first half.

I don't know where to start with special mentions. From where I was sitting on the sideline it seemed everyone lifted and played well in the second half, I was absolutely gutted I couldn't help. Rich Lucas and Sam Wood put in top performances, getting themselves in positions to take the lions' share of our points. Dom Mitchell and Lee Neicho did some great work out of the backline and middle to move the ball up to the forwards. Luke Wilmott was a titan swatting the Huddersfield big men aside...their whining didn't do justice to the footy skills he showed after he made them eat Scorpions dirt. But the best on ground was Adam Biddle. He did great in the ruck against taller and well practiced opponents and ran his guts out in the midfield, awesome work.

I want everyone who played to take away the positives from the match. Scorpions tenacity cannot be rivalled by any team in this league and we can turn any game around in 20 short minutes. Everyone played their guts out in the second half, now we just have to regroup and do it for the full 80 minutes!