U16 Girls Match Report

Match Report 7.4.2018
Under 16s girls
West Leeds Vs Thatto heath
As we walked up to the pitch we thought we would have to swap our boots for our swimming costume, with the mini ponds on the pitch.

Coutney Petruska, who was captain of today’s game, won the coin toss and we started as we like to do - defending. Team spirit in the circle at the start was fantastic and we were certainly up for today’s game in the water.

Thatto Heath started strong but met a strong defence with Ellena Powell and Leah Mcfarlane putting a big hit on their lead prop and stopping their forward pack in their tracks. After that Thatto Heath scored some quick try's earlier on in the game lead by their backs. Winger, Harmony Wilkinson, and full back, Chloe Meah, put a stop to that by taking their number 4 into touch and getting the ball back. We had some promising attacking sets lead by Coutney Petruska but unfortunately we didn’t get over the line. We had a great opportunity in the right corner after our forwards took it down the pitch. A great kick followed by a chase was only just missed by Sinead Preece to get over in the corner. We had a couple of chances to go over the line but Thatto Heath defence was just too strong.

Half time came and the score was 26-0, the spirit in the circle lifted as the girls got more confident knowing how close they had got to the line. Even though it was raining and the weather wasn’t great it didn’t dampen the spirits of the girls,
We mixed the team up a little to have Leah McFarlane playing as standoff. Thatto Heath kicked off to us and Kassi Bousfield took a strong run into a strong forward pack, making some good yards. This was then followed by Lucy Burton having yet another great run which got us further up the pitch. Chloe Briggs took a scoot in and stood up well against unwavering defence.

We had some good opportunities on the left side of the pitch but we just couldn’t get over despite building the pressure on that side. Thatto Heath scored but this didn't deter the girls knowing the next try would be theirs. With a series of quick plays which caught Thatto Heath's defence off guard and some steady decision making, Leah McFarlane went over the line and scored West Leeds first try. West Leeds kept Thatto Heath out for a good stretch, but they got over in the end in spite of a great defensive effort by the West Leeds girls to keep them out for so long. After Thatto Heath then knocked on in their own half, the girls knew they were in with a good chance of scoring again. After some good plays and a little grubber through, a great chase ensued by a couple of the West Leeds girls and Ellena Powell scored the try and leah Mcfarlane converted the kick. The final score was 42-10 which we didn’t feel reflected the girl’s effort in the game. One thing me and Zims asked for was the girls to play as a team and enjoy themselves. We can truly said they did what we asked and had a smile on their faces throughout.

Deciding on the Coaches' player was a hard one to make today because it was an unrelenting team effort
Zims chose Harmony as her coach's player because she put on a great show in both attack and defence, making strong scoots away from markers and making try saving tackles on the wing, causing problems for the other side.

Kirsty chose Leah McFarlane as her coach's player because she led the girls around the park and her defence was the best she has seen, Leah also got the opposition girls of the match too.

Try scorers: Leah McFarlane and Ellena Powell - conversion Courtney petruska 0/1 Leah 1/1

The Team
- Courtney
- Ellena
- Leah
- Harmony
- Chloe M
- Kassi
- Lucy
- Chloe B
- Sinead