Wolves U20s Are Valvoline Cup Winners!

[josie andrews]

Warrington Wolves U20s 36 Leeds Rhinos U20s 20

Warrington Wolves Under 20s finished a memorable season by defeating Leeds Rhinos in a high quality Valvoline Cup Grand Final to lift the cup and add it to the League Leaders trophy that they had already won.

Both sides contributed to a very entertaining game played in front of a healthy crowd but it was the extra skill and composure of the young Wolves that saw them record a deserved victory to seal the last Under 20s title due to the RFL re-organisation from next season.

Following a cagey start it was the Wolves who managed to open the scoring on ten minutes; a smart kick on the last tackle from stand off James Mendeika saw centre Rhys Evans react quickest to collect and score on the right. Scrum half Bobbie Goulding added the conversion but the Rhinos hit back midway through the half when hooker Liam Hood went down the short side and found second row Weller Hauraki whose short ball enabled centre Alex Foster to squeeze over in the left corner.

The Wolves regained the initiative shortly afterwards when second row James Laithwaite took the ball close to the Rhinos line and he offloaded superbly to substitute Brooke Broughton who went over under the posts for a try a minute after coming onto the field. Goulding converted but again Leeds responded when a penalty put them close to the Wolves line and a short ball from Hood found Hauraki who powered over at the side of the posts. Scrum half Ben White added the conversion.

A minute before the break a great interchange of passing between substitute Gavin Bennion and loose forward Matty Blythe saw the ball returned back to Bennion who went through a gap to score wide out on the left and make the half time score 16-10 to the Wolves.

The Rhinos came out firing at the start of the second half and a minute into it Hood went down the blind side on the last tackle and slipped a lovely ball to winger Mo Agoro who scored in the right corner to reduce the deficit to just two points and then five minutes later great work by Hauraki down the left saw him manage to get his hands free and feed Foster who went over on the left to give his side the lead. White added on the goal points.

The Wolves response was immediate as Goulding's kick off saw the ball go ‘dead in-goal' and from the resulting drop out a couple of strong drives put the Wolves on the Rhinos line and second row Ben Currie managed to twist in the tackle and score despite the attention of four defenders. Three minutes later great work by Currie saw him keep the ball alive before finding substitute Liam Hulme who scored under the posts. Goulding converted on both occasions to give the Wolves an eight point cushion.

Just before the hour the Wolves stretched their advantage when Blythe went on his own from dummy half to score after Broughton had been held just short. Goulding converted and then added a penalty goal six minutes from time after the Rhinos were guilty of not been square at the play the ball, to give the Wolves a memorable and very impressive 36-20 victory.

The Dave Valentine Memorial Trophy for the Man of the Match went to Wolves centre Rhys Evans.

After the game Wolves triumphant Under 20s head coach Richard Marshall said: "This was a fitting end to a wonderful season. It was a great spectacle for the crowd with both sides playing at their best. The Rhinos came with a strong team and an excellent gameplan but my boys stuck to their task brilliantly and I am very proud of every one of them. The first half was nip and tuck with both sides having moments of domination and we were happy to go in with a narrow lead. Leeds came out strong at the start of the second half and managed to get themselves in front but the response and composure we showed after that was crucial. The excellent mental strength they all have developed and the togetherness that they have shown throughout the season really did shine through in the last half an hour. Our defence was superb and we shut down their threats and limited them to only a few chances. We always said that we would get out of this season what we deserve and we have done that.

"I would like to thank the players who didn't play this weekend but who have all contributed massively to what we have achieved, the staff and also the fans. The players remarked after the game how great the support was for us. A very special thank you must also go to Squadbuilder who arranged for the whole squad to be in camp on Friday night at a hotel together and this definitely aided us in our preparation for the game. They have supported us brilliantly now over many years and it is greatly appreciated. The long term future of the club is very healthy; this season we have seen a few players make their debuts in the first team and I am sure that there will be even more doing that next season."

Warrington

Jordan Burke, Gene Ormsby, Rhys Evans, James Saltonstall, Rhys Williams, James Mendeika, Bobbie Goulding, Glenn Riley, Brad Dwyer, Ben Evans, James Laithwaite, Ben Currie, Matty Blythe.
Subs: Brooke Broughton, Liam Hulme, Danny Bridge, Gavin Bennion.

Tries: R. Evans (10 mins), Broughton (25), Bennion (39), Currie (48), Hulme (51), Blythe (58).

Goals: Goulding 6 from 7

Leeds

Jimmy Watson, Mo Agoro, Luke Briscoe, Alex Foster, James Duckworth, Liam Sutcliffe, Ben White, Daniel Smith, Liam Hood, Richard Moore, Aaron Brown, Weller Hauraki, Brad Singleton.
Subs: Sean Casey, Colton Roche, Thomas Minns, Matty Syron.

Tries: Foster (21 mins, 46), Hauraki (36), Agoro (41)

Goals: White 2 from 4


http://www.warringtonwolves.org/wolves- ... nners-5721

[trotski_tgwu]

Hope this is a warm up for nxt sat GF game josie