Salford Red Devils 20 Hull FC 14 Match Report
Salford Red Devils’ Ladies’ side returned to winning ways, on Sunday afternoon, when they hung on to defeat the visiting Humbersiders, despite the visitors’ strong fight back in the final quarter of a match which, until then the Red Devils had dominated from the start.
Not only was it their first victory in four outings, it was also their best performance, with some sterling efforts from a number of individuals, not least, Player of the Match, Jadine McVernon.
Barely can a game go by, when the second rower is not a contender for the award, and on this occasion, her efforts stood out most impressively.
She may not be the biggest forward on the field, but on Sunday, the power of her hit-ups down her favourite right channel, allied to her constant support play and strong defensive display, more than warranted her receiving the award on this occasion.
The return from injury of fullback, Anna Dennis, was the restorative measure the whole team needed, and her contribution was most significant, with two conversions, a try, and crucial involvement in two others.
Alongside this, there were other eye-catching contributions, such as her thirteenth minute clearing, mazy run, transitioning the team from defence into attack, and beating at least four players in the process.
Most impressive of all was her almost immediate liaison with right winger, Cailey Miller, making her home debut after filling in for Dennis, at fullback, against Swinton, the previous week.
It was the first time, therefore, the two of them had played together, but one might have thought they had been together for seasons. As early as the seventh minute a long pass from the fullback to the right wing was just a little too high for it to be taken cleanly, and the chance was lost, though nevertheless sounding the warning that more was to follow.
And follow it did, on 22 mins, with a repeat of the above, this time with the ball taken by Miller, in space, and she darted over, beating two defenders in the process and then coming round to score between the posts, with Dennis’s conversion opening a six-point lead.
Five minutes later, the pair combined again to finish off a fine, free-flowing left to right passing move, with Miller’s grounding in the corner, to put the Reds into double figures, and they almost made it a third, on 35 mins, with the winger’s grounding being adjudged to have been fumbled in the mix of defenders around her.
Dennis made sure of the next one, herself, latching on to Ellie Costello’s slick inside pass, to go over near the posts and then add on the additional two points to give the home side a 16-0, half time lead.
The pressure on the visitors was resumed, six minutes into the half, and this time a strong carry by loose forward, Maddie Price, saw the ball go out to left winger Lily Gray, who showed that she too has the ability to put in the finishing touches, with a try in the corner, to put Salford 20-0 ahead.
Whether it was a premature sense of a job well-done, the tiring effects of playing into a strong westerly wind, or the determination of the visitors not to be nilled, but for some reason, the Salford players seemed to relax their grip, and once Hull had scored their first try, on 57 mins, it seemed inevitable that they would get at least one more, which they did in the 72nd minute, with a third for good measure – which was also converted – just too late to impact on the outcome, two minutes from the end.
There will be no opportunity for them to relax in this manner again next week, for were they to do so, their journey all the way down to London, will prove to have been somewhat wasted. They will definitely need a full on eighty-minute performance.
SALFORD
Anna Dennis, Cailey Miller, Lauren Ellison, Bethany Cox, Lily Gray, Louise Fellingham, Ellie Costelo, Megan Bragg, Tamzin Corcoran, Caitlin Washington, Jadine McVernon, Maddison Price
Interchanges:
Holly Waddington, Emily Bagguley, Summer Harris, Yasmin Parton-Sotomayor
18th Player: Emily Carlisle
