I'm sure many of you have heard of this, but what really happened ?
The match was only in the ninth round of the Super League campaign. Force placed 13th in the table defeating to mid table rivals Crusaders this was a big accomplishment to the side,as they had only won 3 of their last 18 matches, hopefully this victory will give the squad a confidence boost and lead them onto a domino effect !
Match Review
Two minutes more or less the game was opened by an underdog try from Forces outhalf Sam Norton-Knight, a quick ball from the breakdown lead to a soft try from a great dummy five meters out. Quiet a few phases were put into this however you can never write of the Crusaders at any given time, never mind at the very beginning of the match. Jayden Hayward successfully converted the kick to give a 7-0 lead. This was short lived as in less than 20 minutes later second rower Luke Romano supported an easy push over offload to shorten the loss to 8-10 to Force. Force were persevering, and held the lead by two points. Play went on and Forces efforts were paying off leading by double Crusaders points by 16 to 8, veering half time. Luke Romano held bitterness and spite as he quickly picked over Forces line in the corner, however this was not to be as in the same play of phases, fullback Israel Dagg gave a forward pass, this disallowed the try and gave Force the chance to keep their heads above water until half time.
In the second half the Crusaders began to panic as time was not of their essence and they had to be assertive in gaining the points, they then gained momentum and caught up with Force. In the eightieth minute they were winning 16-14. Crusaders gave it their all in their last efforts to run the ball and hope for a break in the line. Force kept up their intensity and held onto the victory. The match was that of one played in Coronation Street, plenty of drama, ups and downs but held it together and fought for the win. They had beaten their enemies from New Zealand and were ecstatic, so much so that Rory Walton was reduced to tears.
