Leeds Uni – 14
NURL – 48
Fresh from their victory over Bradford, the owls descended upon the armpit of England – Leeds – to kick off their new league campaign. The match began in poor form for the visitors, as Leeds took advantage of some uncharacteristically weak NURL defending to go 4-0 up with less than five minutes on the clock.
However, this only succeeded in sparking the death machine into action, with Newcastles magical Sammy Boyd fashioning a chance out of nothing to drag the owls level. Some clinical running lines from Newcastle centre Myles Hudson split open the home defence, allowing winger Harry Baxter to crash over in the corner.
Summer signing Chris Griffiths followed up last weeks impressive debut with another accomplished display at stand off, with some flashes of brilliance reminiscent of the illustrious Stunning Ste Moorecroft. NURL prop Joe “deadlift” Dawson then bumbled over a try late in the first half, giving the owls a comfortable points advantage going into the break.
In the second half NURL remained in the ascendancy, with veteran stand off Jack Wearside stretching the slobbering Leeds defence with some well measured passes, and skipper Poops McGee creating a handful of chances to push Leeds deep into their own half. The owls pressure eventually paid off as hooker Robert C. Greaves scooted the ball from one yard out to flop over for the line and push the owls further ahead.
Replacements in the form of Jack English and James Bird gave NURL an injection of energy in the final stages, as the owls maintained their dominance to record a valuable first league win of the season. With the second team also earning an opening day victory against Huddersfield, the season began in a jubilant tone for the AUs most beloved sports team, who play host to newly promoted Liverpool next week.