FEATHERSTONE ROVERS 18 HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS 16
ELLIE INDIE, Millennium Stadium, Saturday
AN Amelia Brown hat-trick was too little, too late to finish a second-half response to Featherstone’s first-half havoc.
Huddersfield suffered their only defeat of the Shield stage thanks in large part to the first 40 minutes, at the end of which they trailed 18-4.
They had started well enough and Fran Copley dived at the line in their second set but was held up by Dani Waters.
Things opened up when Featherstone’s Lydia Fawkes took a high blow from Liv Gale which saw her binned. The penalty allowed Brogan Churm to crash over in a converted effort by Dani Waters.
Brown forced a goalline drop-out to set up Elle Frain through a gap and although she was held up by Beth Macmillan, the hosts were then caught offside and Brown went over.
Fev were quick with a response, gaining the ball back from a short kick-off, from which Emillie Holmes crashed over, and minutes later Aaliyah Brewster went over in a carbon copy.
Huddersfield’s woes worsened as their restart went out on the full, and the retiring Ash Prescott fought off defenders in her path to the line to put her team in a healthy lead despite Waters being unable to covert any of the three tries.
After half-time the Giants were the first out of the blocks camping in their opposition half, though a penalty for double movement and a Brown fumbled catch delayed the fightback.
A strong period off the ball was then required to keep them in the contest when Gracie Hobbs knocked-on a Charley Blackburn grubber, Huddersfield gave back-to-back penalties away and Mollie Iceton dropped the ball in her own ten twice, yet the defence didn’t budge.
After surviving that, Brown didn’t take long to wrap up her hat-trick with two line breaks, her pace allowing her to cross on the right edge twice.
With three minutes to go, Madison Clegg went in unmarked, but Sam Hulme struggled with all the touchline conversions and couldn’t further add to their tally, allowing Featherstone to cling on.
ROVERS: 19 Beth Macmillan, 2 Ellie Lamb, 3 Chloe Billington, 4 Lydia Fawkes, 18 Ash Prescott, 6 Charley Blackburn, 7 Liv Grace, 14 Gabby Harrison, 29 Cerys Gregory, 12 Brogan Churm, 11 Tilly Churm, 16 Kacey Davies, 13 Dani Waters. Subs (all used): 8 Katie Evans, 10 Emillie Holmes, 15 Aaliyah Brewster, 17 Brogan Kennedy
Tries: B Churm (16), Holmes (30), Brewster (34), Prescott (37); Goals: Waters 1/4
GIANTS: 28 Madison Clegg, 1 Amelia Brown, 4 Fran Copley, 16 Eva Izumi, 5 Mollie Iceton, 6 Becky Grady, 26 Liv Gale, 8 Gracie Hobbs, 9 Meg Preston, 10 Lauren Exley, 32 Bo Lynch, 3 Elle Frain, 29 Charlotte McDaid. Subs (all used): 7 Sam Hulme, 11 Amy Bennett, 17 Kacy Haley, 20 Leah Mae Beckett
Tries: Brown (26, 60, 72), Clegg (77); Goals: Hulme 0/4; Sin bin: Gale (15) – high tackle
SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 6-4, 10-4, 14-4, 18-4; 18-8, 18-12, 18-16
Half-time: 18-4; Referee: Carl Hughes