Hunslet RLFC finished their season with a disappointing loss 14-4 away at expansion club Coventry Bears on Saturday (22 September 2018).
Coventry took the lead with an early try on 4 minutes and defended their lead tenaciously through the first half. Hunslet pressed repeatedly but were unable to score and the Bears took a 6-0 lead in at half time.
Gary Thornton’s half time talk seemed to have worked as Hunslet scored soon after the break, but Joe Sanderson wasn’t able to convert, so they still trailed 6-4.
Indiscipline led to a second sin-binning of the match for Hunslet soon after and Coventry kicked the penalty to extend their lead to 8-4.
The Bears continued to press and forced Hunslet to drop out from under their posts just after the hour. Hunslet knocked on on their next set giving Coventry the ball ten metres out. A kick through on the last was pounced on and with the extras Coventry led 14-4.
Hunslet have blown hot and cold this season, putting in some fine performances but never showing the consistency needed to secure the top five finish they were aiming for. Coach Gary Thornton has always maintained that the team was a work in progress and with a number of key players already signed up for next season the fans will continue to hope that next year will be the year.
Teams:
Hunslet RLFC: Halmshaw, Foggin-Johnston, Grimshaw, Mvududu, Sanderson, Haley, Lee, Reed, Mackay, Straugheir, Nicholson, Foster, Flynn. Interchange: Hema, Tonks, Williams, Wright.
Coventry Bears: Rance, Rice-Wilson, Ryan, Sheridan, Pearce-Paul, Freeman, Morley-Samuels, Stead, Sherratt, Barrett, Gover, Bass, Kaufman. Interchange: Geurtjens, Gray, Carter, Lloyd-Jones.