Bradford – 14
NURL – 36
As the gears of the NURL death machine began to grind back into motion, the AUs most beloved sports sports team visited the 1994 european capital of culture: Bradford. The match started at a typically frantic pace, with Joe “deadlift” Dawson bumbling over two tries early in the first quarter to send the crowd into raptures.
The game then turned sour as the mighty Will Winterforce, the NURL dietitian, received a red card following his heroic defence of fellow NURL giant Robse Greaves. In the second quarter NURL undeniably rued the absence of stunning Ste Moorecroft as the game began to lose shape, allowing Bradford to pull back two pitiful tries. However, an accomplished display from Chris Griffiths at stand off saw NURL regain control of the match, with some expansive passing paving the way for the tattooed demon to score on his debut. Tireless running from Will Rimmer provided the foundations for another Newcastle attack, with Jimmy Phillips smashing through one of the shrinking Bradford defenders on his way to the try line.
A combination of disorganization and fatigue allowed Bradford to pull back a try in the third quarter, however the death machine reacted quickly, with Myles Hudson carving open the defence for a well worked try and Sam Jacques capping off an unforgettable performance with a magnificent conversion. The owls held out against a late Bradford onslaught, with Rory Williams providing a try saving tackle and the indefatigable Dave Knox stopping a number of Bradford attacks to ensure a win for the owls.
With a star studded Bradford line up including the likes of Charles NZogbia and Andy Fordham NURL can consider this an important first win of the season and excellent preparation for their opening league fixture against Leeds next week.