Under 18's
The under 18's will be coached by Aaron Stead most of last years squad are eligible to play again and this should help them to compete well this year.
UNDER 18
King Cross Park 4 Dewsbury Moor 22
King Cross Park had high hopes of their first win of the season as they entertained Dewsbury Moor but a lethargic performance saw them slump to a 22.4 defeat. As in previous weeks Cross had only twelve players to call on but with the visitors only having one more player, which was reduced to even numbers when they had a player sent off in the first half for head butting, the lack of numbers could not be used as an excuse.
In testing conditions Dewsbury had first use of the slope and were in front after ten minutes when a forward broke through some weak tackling to score. Cross were finding it difficult to make ground up the hill but they finally established themselves in their opponents 25 when Kevin Green, who had a fine game throughout, chased a kick and put a big hit on the Dewsbury fullback to force a knock on. During the next set Danny Fleming hoisted a bomb which was missed by the defence and as it came back off a post it was picked up by Simon Dawson who,unfortunately was tackled just short of the line.Fleming and Pat Gilligan went close and Greg Sladdin was held up over the line but the score would not come. Dewsbury relieved the pressure and doubled their lead when they crossed again 5 minutes before the break.
Cross had the slope in the second half and needed a good start but it was Dewsbury who scored first when they kicked near the Cross line and with the defence slow to react their player dived through to claim the try. Cross upped their game and as the forwards began to make yards Sladdin powered over to reduce the deficit to 18.4. Unfortunately the Cross performance began to deteriorate rapidly and one man rugby and dropped passes prevailed with them looking increasingly unlikely to score. It was no suprise when the Dewsbury centre scythed through from 30 yards to wrap the game up for the away side.
Hopefully the injury list should begin to clear soon but Cross need to put a lot more enthusiasm into their game if they are going to compete. Fixtures don't get any easier and this week sees a trip to unbeaten table toppers Oulton where a similar display will result in a heavy defeat.
Sunday 11th October
King Cross Park 10 Oulton Raiders 42
King Cross Park entertained unbeaten league leaders Oulton Raiders and whilst they put in a commited performance they were powerless to stop the Leeds side easing to a comfortable 42.10 victory.
Park started brightly with the forwards driving the ball hard but faced with solid defence they struggled to make significant inroads into the Oulton half. However Cross were also tackling well and the first twenty minutes of the match were scoreless as both sides looked for the opening. Oulton were first on the scoreboard as pressure told and they crossed for a 6.0 lead. A further try followed as poor tackling enabled a Leeds forward to crash through. Trailing 12.0 Cross looked to weathered the storm but immediately before half time they conceded two further tries to trail 24.0 at the break which effectively killed the game.
To their credit Cross didn't throw in the towel and battled hard in the second half and whilst Oulton scored a further three tries Cross scored two of their own. The first came after sustained pressure on the line the ball was moved wide for Simon Dawson to cross in the corner and the second was scored by Jacob Hyde as the stand off backed up well to cross under the posts.The final score of 10.42 was probably a fair reflection of the game.
In their first three games of the season Cross have now played the top three teams in the league. With hopefully easier games to come the team will be hoping to record their first win of the season sooner rather later.
Sunday 13th September
King Cross Park vs Normanton Knights Lost 22-32
King Cross Park hosted Normanton Knights in the first match of the new season and with the benefit of only three training sessions and only able to field a bare minimum of thirteen players a tough game was in prospect.
Both teams started brightly with the forwards driving the ball in hard but the defences held firm resulting in a scoreless first quarter. After a period of pressure on the Normanton line Cross finally broke the deadlock when hooker Pat Gilligan burried through from dummy half. Cross maintained the pressure and when the ball was moved left Paul Farnell, in his first game back after a two year break, crossed wide out. Daniel Fleming added the conversion to take the lead to 10.0. Normanton replied with a try of their own before Andy Binns made it 16.4 by crashing over in the corner after good approach play. A further try from Normanton pulled the score back to 16.8 and then in time added on a length of the field break resulted in a converted try taking the score at half time to 16.14.
After a big effort in the first half and with a few players carrying knocks it was felt Cross may struggle in the second half with Normanton having a full bench of substitutes available and this proved the case as they scored three unanswered tries to lead 28.16. However Cross refused to give in and dug deep to put pressure on the Normanton line. After going close on a couple of occassions they finally got the breakthrough when Fleming powered over from close in and then added the extras. Unfortunately Cross couldn't score again and Normanton wrapped things late in the game with a further try to take the final score to 22.32.
Whilst the team ended up losing they certainly couldn't be knocked for lack of effort or spirit and with a bit more luck they could have beaten what is generally considered to be one of the stronger teams in the division. As the squad grows in size and with the benefit of a few more training sessions together there are certainly signs that the team may well be fairly competitive this year.
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