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Old boy Tansey foils Leeds Rhinos
Brad Singleton on the charge for Leeds Rhinos.
Old boy Jordan Tansey was a thorn in Leeds Rhinos’ side as their under-20s went down 26-18 at York City Knights
The much-travelled Tansey is aiming to rebuild his career in the Co-op Championship with York and, despite clear signs of ring rust, he had a little too much class and know-how for Rhinos’ youngsters.
Rhinos were excellent in the first half, but – after Tansey’s introduction – they saw little ball following the break and eventually their eager defence was over-powered.
Leeds were two scores clear twice and it was a good work-out against decent opposition who – even without player-coach Chris Thorman and former Wakefield front-rower Paul King – fielded an experienced line-up.
Rhinos showed great enthusiasm, matched York physically and played the better rugby for much of the game, but a heavy adverse penalty count and lack of cohesion on the opposition line proved costly.
Encouraging
“We had a group of 17/18/19-year-olds with a couple of 20s, so I thought it was an encouraging performance against a fairly strong York team,” said Rhinos under-20s coach Chris Plume.
“I thought we dominated a lot of stuff in the first half. Defensively we halted a lot of their progress, with the ball we threw it around and asked some questions and we got over the line a couple of times.
“I was pleased with the first half, but half-time came at the wrong time for us. In the second half we got sloppy in some defensive areas.
“We allowed the opposition to get a bit of momentum, we conceded some penalties and things went against us. That’s something for these young players to work on.”
York’s starting 13 included George Elliott, who played one Super League game for Leeds last term.
Another Rhinos connection was substitute Brooke Broughton, a one-time Leeds academy player who is dual-registered with Warrington Wolves.
The only Leeds player with any senior game time under his belt was Brad Singleton, who came off the bench once in 2011.
A specialist prop, Singleton captained the team from loose-forward, which could be an indication of how Rhinos’ management see roles changing as the number of permitted substitutions are reduced.
Singleton was one of five full-time players in Rhinos’ ranks, alongside winger Jamel Chisholm stand-off Stevie Ward, prop Daniel Smith and hooker Liam Hood.
Ward and half-back partner Sean Casey formed a classy combination – particularly in the second quarter – and Singleton had a strong game, but the lively Hood looked the closest to being ready for first-team action.
Ward’s clever kick led to the opening try on seven minutes. York’s defence thought it was going dead, but Matty Syron chased a lost cause and batted the ball back for Jimmy Watson to touch down.
York loose-forward Jack Aldous exposed some naïve defence by creating an overlap for Brett Turner to send Dave Sutton over for an unconverted try moments later.
Aldous – normally a prop and playing a similar role to Singleton –showed some good touches for York, as did full-back James Haynes.
It was German international Jimmy Keinhorst’s first game since signing a part-time contract with Leeds after impressing as a trialist for the under-21s last year.
The Leeds Metropolitan University student was one of Leeds’ better performers and illustrated why Rhinos’ management think so highly of him with a wonderful pass to set up a try for Chisholm, the two-time fastest man in rugby league winner, who juggled before finishing impressively tight to the left touchline.
Casey landed his second conversion.
That sparked Rhinos’ best spell of the game and – despite some defensive resilience by York – they would have been further than 12-4 up at the break had they taken better options.
Colton Roche was held up over the line, but Ward had the best chance when he intercepted deep in Leeds territory. He didn’t have the legs to go all the way and Ben Hellewell – another Warrington dual-reg player – ran him down.
Tansey’s introduction – plus a flurry of penalties – gave York an extra gear after the break and Jack Lee danced over for a close-range try, Haynes adding the extras to cut the gap to two points.
Full-back Watson, another player tipped for a bright future, stood his ground to make a fine try-saving tackle after Sutton’s touchline dash.
Moments later Rhinos extended their lead when Ollie Olds made a break which Aaron Brown finished and big prop Daniel Smith landed a terrific touchline goal.
Sutton’s second try got York back in the game on the hour and Adam Howard rumbled over moments later, Haynes’ goal edging the hosts ahead.
Howard then carved out a try for Adam Sullivan and Hellewell’s conversion completed the scoring.
The game was refereed by former York player Jamie Bloem. His penalty count was 13-6 in York’s favour and a lopsided 7-2 in the second period, which played a significant part in the hosts’ fightback.
York City Knights: Haynes, Pryce, Ford, Elliott, Sutton, Turner, Williams, Sullivan, Lee, Benson, Clarke, Houston, Aldous. Subs (all used): Hellewell, Tansey, Broughton, Howard, Gay, E Smith, Burns.
Leeds Rhinos: Watson, Agoro, Normington, Keinhorst, Chisholm, Ward, Casey, D Smith, Hood, Syron, Bravo, Stott, Singleton. Subs (all used): Olds, Nicholson, Roche, Morgan, Pring, Brown, R Smith.
Referee: Jamie Bloem (Halifax).
Attendance: 546.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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Comments
There are 2 comments to this article
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tiff
Monday, January 16, 2012 at 05:48 PMAs I did not attend the game can some kind fan please tell me if Jordan Tansey had a drink in his hand while playing. For him to go 90 mins without a drink is something special
Navy and Sky
Monday, January 16, 2012 at 01:37 PMThe game was refereed by former York player Jamie Bloem. Lazy reporting, Jamie Bloem has NEVER played for York. why don't reporters check facts before publishing.
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