THE Reserves failed to emulate the First team’s double when they lost out to a vastly experienced Rhinos outfit 38-16, writes Graham Henthorne.
The home team took to the field with four of their pack being players that the First team could quite easily have expected to face in the main game.
Despite this with almost half an hour gone the Saints were only six points down and had two passes not crept forward from the hand the Saints could quite easily have gone in at the break ahead.
In almost a precursor for the main game the Saints were undone by their own poor tackling. Having withstood two sets of six on their own line the Rhinos took the lead with 75 metre effort from the stand-off.
The Saints had already had Scott Hale and Josh Jones held up over the line but two tries in three minutes on the half hour effectively won the game for the home side.
On the stroke of half time Josh Jones gave the Reserves some hope as he finished a great move that he himself had started by diving over in the corner.
Coach Talbot asked the boys to get back to the game plan, show a little belief in their own ability and the tries would come. Unfortunately that belief didn’t happen until the final quarter when the game was already gone.
Jayden Sandford had a spectacular try unjustly disallowed as he was ruled to have touched down dead in goal when it looked clearly as if he had scored legally albeit being totally off the ground in the process.
Two tries in the final ten minutes gave the score a little more realistic look.
Jamie Foster scored in the left corner after Andrew Dixon had been held short. Danny Yates went back to the blind side from the play the ball and Foster just managed to stretch over.
The final score went to Danny Jones. A good drive from Aaron McCloskey put the Saints on the front foot and from the play the ball a neat short pass from Lee Gaskell put Jones in.
The score flatters the home side a little. However, the Saints were not far away and maybe a little more belief in their own ability would have seen them closer still. Josh Jones was the pick of the bunch on his return from a successful run in the First team.
Match Summary:
Leeds:
Tries: Jimmy Watson 2, Jamel Chisholm, Stevie Ward, Ollie Olds, Jack Pring, Daniel Smith.
Goals: Paul McShane 5.
St Helens:
Tries: Josh Jones, Jamie Foster, Mark Percival
Goals: Jamie Foster (2)
Half Time: 6-16
Full Time: 16-38
Teams:
Leeds:
1. Luke Briscoe; 2. Jimmy Watson, 3. Alec Foster, 4. Jimmy Keinhorst, 5. Jamel Chisholm; 6. Stevie Ward, 7. Ollie Olds; 8. Ian Kirke, 9. Paul McShane, 10. Richard Moore, 11. Weller Hauraki, 12. Clayton Stott, 13. Aaron Brown.
Subs: 14. Sean Casey, 15. Colton Roche, 16. Jack Pring, 17. Daniel Smith.
Saints:
1. Adam Swift; 2. Jaydon Sandford, 4. Josh Jones, 3. Mark Percival, 5. Jamie Foster; 6. Lee Gaskell, 7. Danny Yates; 8. Ant Walker, 9. Dom Speakman, 10. Carl Forster, 17. Joe Greenwood, 12. Danny Jones, 13. Andrew Dixon.
Subs: 11. Aaron McCloskey, 14. Lewis Foster, 15. James Tilley, 16. Scott Hale.
