Hunslet RLFC 0-56 York Knights: Match Report
- sharonshortle
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
York Knights unbeaten run in the Betfred Championship stretched to 13 games, with a 56-0 win against Hunslet Hawks at the South Leeds Stadium.
A dominant performance led to them scoring 10 tries, with two from Scott Galeano.
It was a solid team showing against the Championship’s strugglers, and the result keeps them top of the table with four games remaining.
The first points came after just four minutes, when Ben Jones-Bishop got on the score sheet, taking a pass from Kieran Buchanan to scorch down the wing. Will Dagger added the first of his five conversions.
Connor Bailey extended the lead soon after, taking a short ball to stroll in, and again Dagger converted.
The try scoring rate slowed after that opening period, but the next try came from almost the next real foray into the Hunslet 20 metre area. Paul McShane sent a looping cut out pass wide to Scott Galeano who had nobody between him and the line. Dagger pulled the conversion across the face of the posts.
With 10 minutes to go to half time, York finally had to absorb some pressure, after Josh Rampton intercepted a Will Dagger pass in the Hunslet half and raced up field. Paul McShane was the first to track back to cut him down, but it led to back to back sets on the Knights’ line. However, a Hunslet error meant their attack broke down and York regained possession.
York were looking dominant and almost scored again when a flowing move upfield ended with a good offload in the tackle from Galeano, only for Joe Law to be held up over the line.
There were more points before half time though, when simple passing along the line allowed Galeano to cross for his second, diving into space at the corner. Again, it was too far out for Dagger to convert.
However, the full back was on the mark moments later, when the Knights were awarded a penalty for a late shot on the stroke of half time, giving them a 22-0 lead at the break.
The Knights resumed the second half without Ata Hingano, forcing a reshuffle in the halves, but they still came out with intent.
First, Conor Fitzsimmons went in beneath the posts off a Jordan Thompson pass, and then Oli Field stepped out of an attempted tackle to score just minutes later. Dagger converted the first of those, then McShane added the extras to the second.
The Knights were becoming increasingly dominant, and continued to pressure Hunslet both with their defence and with ball in hand. When Jordan Thompson stepped around the attempted tacklers from 30 metres out to get York’s seventh try of the afternoon, Dagger’s conversion brought up the 40 point mark.
With Hunslet trying to put pressure on York’s line, McShane intercepted and went 60 metres upfield. As the defence scrambled into position, a long ball to Jones-Bishop released him down the wing, and the supporting Mata’afa taking an unselfish pass almost on the line to dot down.
Mitch Clarke was next over the try line with just two minutes remaining, off the back of an Oli Field pass, and again McShane converted, to complete an at times clinical afternoon for the Knights.
Hunslet: Watson, Rampton, Welham, McEwan-Peters, Nichol, Jowitt, Corbett, Hallas, Hutchinson, Foster, Gilmore, Gallagher, Rugless
Subs (all used): Syme, Fletcher, Clavering, Larroyer
18th Player: Carr
Tries: None
Goals: None
York: Dagger, Galeano, Law, Buchanan, Jones-Bishop, Mata’afa, Hingano, Martin, McShane, Reynolds, Field, Bailey, Thompson
Subs (all used): Pemberton, Santi, Fitzsimmons, Clark
18th Player: Brown
Tries: Jones-Bishop (4), Bailey (9), Galeano (21, 40), Fitzsimmons (49), Field (52), Thompson (65), Mata’afa (70), Martin (75), Clark (78)
Goals: Dagger (5/8). McShane (3/3)
