Post by padds on Jun 13, 2021 14:50:43 GMT
Hull coach Dave Paddock returned from a 3 week holiday in Barbados to find a very exiting finale on the cards in the ASRL. He had taken the break which had been booked several months ago, before the Covid restrictions in England. Barbados appeared on the Uk’s amber list so Dave jumped on the plane happy in the knowledge that there would be no restrictions on him. Little did Dave know that the Barbadian government had changed their rules on Covid to 14 days isolation for all tourists, so Dave had to spend the entire holiday in the hotel, near the town of Holetown. His room had a balcony and access to a small beach so he could swim and sunbathe to his hearts content. Most Barbadians speak English, but Dave’s valet was from the local town of Speightstown in the North West of Barbados and his English was very poor. He was very interested in West Indian cricket and they spent a lot of time talking about cricket. Rugby League has never invaded the Caribbean. As he was staying in a 3 star hotel in Georgetown wifi was virtually unheard of, so has ipad and iphone were almost useless. Dave could only keep in touch with his assistant Matt Danby as to what was happening with his Hull side was if he travelled into Georgetown and used the wifi in the 5 star hotel there. The hotel where Dave was staying had Tv in all rooms, but the only programmes that were available were a local Barbados news station with 24 hour news and another channel which showed endless repeats of ‘Death in Paradise’ which Dave could relate to easily. At least it was a break, Dave came back to England to find his deputy Matt had presided over a shock win over Perth and a loss to Adelaide. The league that Dave returned to was:
Gold Coast Crusade 10 6 0 271 200 71 20
Auckland Orcas 10 6 0 288 263 25 20
Adelaide Attitude 9 6 1 321 236 85 19
Brisbane Raiders 9 7 0 290 280 10 18
Darwin Dragons 9 7 0 216 211 5 18
Perth Panthers 7 7 2 274 272 2 16
Hull Kingston Redskins 8 8 0 261 265 -4 16
In the early game this week Glasgow Reapers, who had won their last 2 games, got one over on Championship contenders Adelaide Attitude 22-14. Jake Bibby scored 2 tries and Maika Sivo one, while Mitchell Moses kicked 5 goals. Adelaide replied with tires by Waqa Blake and James Maloney, who also kicked 3 goals. This victory means that Glasgow will not finish with the deeded wooden spoon, which Sydney won, and also means that Adelaide now cannot win the Minor Premiership. The second game of the week saw Darwin Dragons, who had won 7 in a row, until defeat last week to Perth cost them a share of top spot take on a Hull Kingston Redskins side, who had their coach back after a fortnight's 'holiday’ in the Caribbean. Hull had to win to keep their playoff hopes alive, and they did just that, totally outplaying an out of sorts Darwin, who failed to register a point in an 18-0 defeat. Hull scored tries through Cameron Munster, Luke Gale and David Fifita. Shaun Johnson, who is rumoured to be leaving the club soon, kicked 3 goals. A season ending injury to Viliame Kikau will be a major blow to any hopes Redskins have of silverware. Next game up was Brisbane Raiders against a Perth Panthers side who are capable of beating anybody on their day. Perth needed to win to get into the top 4 at Brisbane's expense, and like Hull in the previous game they stepped up to the plate and walloped the Raiders 26-0. Tries from Elliott Whitehead 2, Reuben Cotter, Jack De Belin and James Fisher-Harris coupled with three Kyle Feldt goals stunned Brisbane. Sydney Oilers, on the back of 3 wins in 4 played league leaders Gold Coast, who had lost 3 of their previous 5. but Crusade showed their resilience by coming our 24-10 winners and, coupled with Auckland's defeat meant they go clear at the top with 1 to go. Xavier Coates 2, Lindsay Collins and Ryan James scored tries and the ever reliable Adam Reynolds kicked 4 goals. It looks like the Minor Prem for Gold Coast with Auckland and Adelaide choking in the final furlong, while Perth and Hull did themselves a power of good reaching the top 5 in place of the teams they beat. The table now looks like this:
Gold Coast Crusade 11 6 0 295 210 85 22
Auckland Orcas 10 7 0 314 293 21 20
Adelaide Attitude 9 7 1 335 258 77 19
Perth Panthers 8 7 2 300 272 28 18
Hull Kingston Redskins 9 8 0 279 265 14 18
Darwin Dragons 9 8 0 216 229 -13 18
Brisbane Raiders 9 8 0 290 306 -16 18'
Glasgow Reapers 6 9 2 250 288 -38 14
Merseyside Dockers 6 10 1 237 332 -95 13
Sydney Oilers 5 12 0 285 348 -63 10
The final fixtures are
Adelaide v Darwin
Auckland v Sydney
Gold Coast v Glasgow
Hull v Brisbane
Perth v Merseyside
Strangely all top 5 teams are at home this week, playing teams in the bottom half, so that should be the finish with Gold Coast cementing the MP, and Sydney collecting the wooden spoon, again
Gold Coast Crusade 10 6 0 271 200 71 20
Auckland Orcas 10 6 0 288 263 25 20
Adelaide Attitude 9 6 1 321 236 85 19
Brisbane Raiders 9 7 0 290 280 10 18
Darwin Dragons 9 7 0 216 211 5 18
Perth Panthers 7 7 2 274 272 2 16
Hull Kingston Redskins 8 8 0 261 265 -4 16
In the early game this week Glasgow Reapers, who had won their last 2 games, got one over on Championship contenders Adelaide Attitude 22-14. Jake Bibby scored 2 tries and Maika Sivo one, while Mitchell Moses kicked 5 goals. Adelaide replied with tires by Waqa Blake and James Maloney, who also kicked 3 goals. This victory means that Glasgow will not finish with the deeded wooden spoon, which Sydney won, and also means that Adelaide now cannot win the Minor Premiership. The second game of the week saw Darwin Dragons, who had won 7 in a row, until defeat last week to Perth cost them a share of top spot take on a Hull Kingston Redskins side, who had their coach back after a fortnight's 'holiday’ in the Caribbean. Hull had to win to keep their playoff hopes alive, and they did just that, totally outplaying an out of sorts Darwin, who failed to register a point in an 18-0 defeat. Hull scored tries through Cameron Munster, Luke Gale and David Fifita. Shaun Johnson, who is rumoured to be leaving the club soon, kicked 3 goals. A season ending injury to Viliame Kikau will be a major blow to any hopes Redskins have of silverware. Next game up was Brisbane Raiders against a Perth Panthers side who are capable of beating anybody on their day. Perth needed to win to get into the top 4 at Brisbane's expense, and like Hull in the previous game they stepped up to the plate and walloped the Raiders 26-0. Tries from Elliott Whitehead 2, Reuben Cotter, Jack De Belin and James Fisher-Harris coupled with three Kyle Feldt goals stunned Brisbane. Sydney Oilers, on the back of 3 wins in 4 played league leaders Gold Coast, who had lost 3 of their previous 5. but Crusade showed their resilience by coming our 24-10 winners and, coupled with Auckland's defeat meant they go clear at the top with 1 to go. Xavier Coates 2, Lindsay Collins and Ryan James scored tries and the ever reliable Adam Reynolds kicked 4 goals. It looks like the Minor Prem for Gold Coast with Auckland and Adelaide choking in the final furlong, while Perth and Hull did themselves a power of good reaching the top 5 in place of the teams they beat. The table now looks like this:
Gold Coast Crusade 11 6 0 295 210 85 22
Auckland Orcas 10 7 0 314 293 21 20
Adelaide Attitude 9 7 1 335 258 77 19
Perth Panthers 8 7 2 300 272 28 18
Hull Kingston Redskins 9 8 0 279 265 14 18
Darwin Dragons 9 8 0 216 229 -13 18
Brisbane Raiders 9 8 0 290 306 -16 18'
Glasgow Reapers 6 9 2 250 288 -38 14
Merseyside Dockers 6 10 1 237 332 -95 13
Sydney Oilers 5 12 0 285 348 -63 10
The final fixtures are
Adelaide v Darwin
Auckland v Sydney
Gold Coast v Glasgow
Hull v Brisbane
Perth v Merseyside
Strangely all top 5 teams are at home this week, playing teams in the bottom half, so that should be the finish with Gold Coast cementing the MP, and Sydney collecting the wooden spoon, again
