News

Reserves Make Final in Style

21st Sep 2009, 9:57am

St Helens Reserve Team 59 v 28 Leeds Rhinos Reserve Team

 

By Graham Henthorne, Team Manager

 

Finally, after a season of trying, Head Coach Ian Talbot got to put the team of his choice on to the pitch and they performed to their ability. Putting the disappointment of last week aside, the Reserves turned on the style in a ten try thrashing of the Rhinos.

 

Despite arriving late having been stuck on the M62, the Rhinos took a shock early lead capitalising on a Saints knock on to score in their first set.

 

The Reserves didn’t panic, however, and quickly took control with three tries in the next 15 minutes. Chris Dean scored the first two taking advantage of good field position courtesy of Gareth Frodsham and Jake Emmitt. A blindside pass from Andrew Dixon gave him his first and a long ball wide from Karl Ashall put him in for his second. Both were given full vale by Jamie Foster’s boot and the Saints had a lead they never relinquished.

 

Gary Wheeler scored the third try from a Jonny Lomax offload after Ashall and Emmitt had been held short.

 

The Rhinos closed the gap to within two points as the Saints started to lose possession cheaply but a big hit from Warren Thompson turned the game.

 

A second on the next set from Lomax saw the ball squeeze out and pounced on by Wheeler. Chris Dean took it to the Rhinos defensive line and from the play the ball Lomax, now operating at hooker, took three over with him.

 

The Saints gave themselves breathing space on the stroke of half time as Wheeler scored a peach of a try. Frodsham drove the ball in on halfway and offloaded around the back of his tackler to the charging Wheeler. He took it to the full back, stood him up, rounded him on the inside and put the ball down on his back surrounded by three would be tacklers. Foster’s fifth from five gave the Reserves a vital three score lead at the break.

 

Lomax got the scoring underway at the start of the second half darting over at dummy half after the Rhinos had spilled a Jamie Ellis bomb. Poor tackling let the visitors back in it with two converted tries in a commanding ten minute spell.

 

But just as the visitors could see themselves getting back into it, the Saints turned the screw. Chris Dean completed his hat-trick taking a peach of a short ball from Matty Ashurst and Karl Ashall got his name on the score sheet with a cheeky drop goal that just cleared the bar.

 

The pack were rampant now and the Saints got their just deserts with three tries in the final ten minutes. Foster finished a good move down the left after Ashurst and Dean had both committed their defenders to give him the space to squeeze over.

 

Another good drive out of defence and quick play the ball from Danny Cooper gave Jonny Lomax the room to break the line and feed Ashall to go over before Lomax got the tenth try and his own third with a trademark jink to the line.

 

This was a commanding performance from an outstanding team. Led by Emmitt and Frodsham and with Cooper and Andy Yates taking over off the bench the pack totally outplayed their opposite numbers from Leeds for large parts of the game. Off the back of this dominance the flair of Ellis and Wheeler was given the space and time to flourish and in Chris Dean and Jonny Lomax the Saints had finishers supreme.

 

So now to the final. For once the Reserves are being allowed to play at the DW Stadium (kick off 2:00 p.m. on Sunday 27^th) so get down and support the lads, hopefully to Championship glory.

 

St Helens Reserve Team	Leeds Rhinos Reserves Team
Jonny Lomax	Ben Jones-Bishop
Martin Waring	Jodie Broughton
Kurt Haggerty	Ashley Gibson
Chris Dean	Kallum Watkins
Jamie Foster	Tom Bush
Gary Wheeler	Danny Allan
Jamie Ellis	Simon Brown
Gareth Frodsham	Ben Jones
Karl Ashall	Paul McShane
Jake Emmitt	Jay Pitts
Warren Thompson	Dane Manning
Andrew Dixon	Chris Clarkson
Matty Ashurst	Liam Brown
Lee Gaskell	Mathew Fox
Paul Johnson	Danny Lawton
Andy Yates	Ben Parkinson
Danny Cooper	Joe Chandler

 

St Helens Reserve Team:

Tries: Jonny Lomax 3, Chris Dean 3, Jamie Foster, Gary Wheeler 2, Karl Ashall

Goals: Jamie Foster 9

Drop Goals: Karl Ashall

 

Leeds Rhinos Reserve Team:

Tries: Ben Jones-Bishop, Jodie Broughton, Tom Bush, Liam Brown

Goals: Simon Brown 4

 

Half Time: 30-16                                   

Full Time: 59-28

 

For further details of the Reserves, as well as the First Team, Academy and Foundation, click here.

  Share this article:

« Fozzard Makes Saints Return Qualifying Semi Final Tickets Now On Sale »

Comments

You can leave a comment on this article by filling in the form at the bottom of this page.

• craig says:
  Well done to the saints reserve team beating the Leeds Rhinos reserve team on saturday to gain a place in the reserves grand final good luck to the lads on sunday againts Wigan.
• Diane says:
  Well done lads! Sounds like you really took it to the Whinos. All the best for the final!
• samthest says:
  emmitt was a class act!!!!!!!! like to see him in the row in the 1st team some time!!
• Adrian Cunliffe says:
  Well done to all, and goodluck in the final. May you destory the pies at will and enjoy yourselves whilst doing so. Rather be a pastie than a pie ! Ade
• Dov says:
  Good luck SAINTS!!!!!!!!!!
• somerset saints says:
  bravo lads, well done. if the 1st team was playin on saturday we would have come up a day early and cheered the lads on. just a bit too long of a drive for a reserve fixture, but will be glued to this site lookin for updates. good luck boys and smash the pies