ELKS LEAVE GRIMSBY GASPING

Man of the Match: Jono Falls

The Elks continued their impressive start to the season with another demolition job at the Stute on Saturday. They again made good use of the pristine pitch and perfect weather conditions to release their backs at every opportunity. As a unit they simply had too much pace and guile for a spirited Grimsby to cope with.

The home side recorded 9 tries, 2 each from Neil Stenhouse, and Dan Mahoney, 1 from Adrian Montague, and 4 from Jono Falls. Seven conversions and 2 penalties gave Falls a personal tally of 40 points and earned him the Man of the Match award.

The first 20 minutes did not indicate the end scoreline would be so emphatic. Grimsby enjoyed the best of the early exchanges as the Elks took time to settle. The visitors took the lead on 10 minutes with a Daly penalty and could have extended it minutes later with a searing break from the powerful Oliver. Full back Dan Taylor saved the day with a crunching tackle which allowed the home side to regroup.

The Elks heeded the warning and slowly began to impose themselves on the game. The excellent refereeing of Mr Trevor Sharpe, of the NLD Society, showed an empathy with the players and kept the game flowing, allowing the home side to develop their preferred style and make use of space wide out.

Their efforts were rewarded on 21 minutes when a quick line out by Bryn Locke led to a break by Alan Cook. When the ball was won quickly at the ensuing ruck Stenhouse's finely timed pass sent Jono Falls racing to the corner. They increased their lead with a Falls penalty 5 minutes later.

Grimsby showed that they were also capable of using space with a counter attack started by Hill and taken on by Oliver ending in a try for Chaplin to bring the scores level at 8-8. That was the last time that the visitors troubled the scoreboard as the Elks found their rhythm and began to dominate every area of the game.

As the visitors pack tired the Elks pack began to dominate, Gordon Pringle, Jason Falls, and Craig Charlton in the front row caused all sorts of problems for their opposite numbers shunting them backwards on a number of occasions. At the line out the options of using Adam Stoker, Bryn Locke, and Steve Quinn proved profitable with the ball won being driven forward or delivered quickly to give the backs time in which to operate.

With such a solid first phase platform No. 8 Quinn was able to use his pace and power to launch attacks from the base of the scrum. He combined with debutant Chris Kemsley to exploit gaps in the visitors defence. Kemsley's quick service and an eye for the break made for a promising debut.

The back row of Ben Newton and Steve Mahoney thrived on the quality ball produced and were able to roam the park and boss the breakdown. As half time approached the Elks should have taken the lead but 2 tries were disallowed, the final passes being judged forward.

The pressure being exerted however could not be denied for long and a Kemsley break from a line out sent Stenhouse between the posts. On the stroke of half time a Taylor break from his own 22 sent Dan Mahoney on a charge. A quick ruck and crisp passing moved the ball to Jono Falls and his pace earned him a try in the corner. The conversion of his own try made it 22-8 at half time.

With the advantage of the slope the Elks totally dominated the second half scoring 6 tries. The decision making of Stenhouse made good use of the backs outside him creating space and time for the centres Alan Cook and James Connolly. They in turn took full advantage and brought wingers Dan Mahoney, Jono Falls and also full back Dan Taylor into the game at every opportunity.

With barely 5 minutes gone a Quinn drive from a 5 metre scrum made space for Dan Mahoney to squeeze into the corner. A Falls penalty increased the lead to 32-8 and was quickly followed by a superb individual effort from Stenhouse who, picking the ball up from the back of a ruck, danced his way through a forest of bodies to touch down between the posts.

The applause had barely died down when Dan Mahoney scored the try of the game. Starting deep in their own half forwards and backs combined to sweep the length of the field. Locke's finely timed pass put Mahoney outside his man to score in the corner.

As legs tired coach Scott Rudkin introduced the bench to maintain momentum. Adrian Montague, Russ Garland, and Josh Newton were brought into proceedings. All three quickly made contributions but none as quickly as Montague who picked up and scored from a 5 metre scrum with his first touch of the ball.

Two further tries were added by Jono Falls, one a flurry of side steps and dummies. The conversions of his own tries made it 65-8 at the final whistle.

Pictures 6 - 9 Courtesy of the Ilkeston Advertiser