Wed 8th Feb saw our undefeated RM2 legends take on one of the other big clubs in the Rugby league, in the form of Hunters 4th team. A late change to the squad due to injury saw Chris back in, after some confirmation from the league that he was still eligible to play. Sam and Dave, our two newest, are arguably most energetic, members completed Rob's lineup for the night.
It is fair to say that the match was largely uncontested, and would probably have been a safe 6-0 if it hadn't been for one of Hunter's younger players, Isaac Porter, who appeared to be having an absolute blinder of a night... His technique and placement kept both Sam and Dave having to put in a work rate notably above normal, Chris looked like he almost needed to stretch his already impressive reach, and Rob employed the sound match tactics 'play it to the other guy'.
The first pairs matched up 24-22 & 21-16 to Trinity, but with Rob puffing a little more than usual after just two game, whilst the second pairs had a much quicker run of things at 21-3 , but dropped off a smidge and could only net a 21-10 second game to take us into a safe 2-0 start.
On the swap, Rob and Dave provided a similar scoreline against Hunter's second pair, 21-4 & 21-9, not wanting to concede any more points than Chris and Sam had. Meanwhile Chris and Sam possibly entered their second game a shade more casual than they could have, and soon understood why their teammates had taken so long in the first leg... Whether it was a mountain too high, or the change of ability, Chris and Sam couldn't find a way through the first pair and unfortunately lost to 16 and 18.
3-1 going into the split meant Hunters had everything to play for, whilst Trinity just needed either rubber to seal the win. The track of the night repeated itself, Sam and Dave with gas left in their tank soundly dispatch the non-Isaac Hunter's pair, to 9 & 12, and Rob and Chris were able to bring their experience to bear taking their rubber to 16 and 18.
Much closer to 3-3 than the final scoreline suggests, bu fortunately, one player does not make a winning team, and our lads were able to handily keep the other players in check, and produce some comfortable scorelines. A safe 5-1 victory on the night, but certainly a taste of trouble in the coming years if the youngsters in the RDBA keep to the standards we are seeing now!