The Eels & Raiders players took to the field in roasting hot conditions (28c) in the final round of games in the London RL 16s League.
Both sides started well, with some huge collisions & completed sets, but it was Ben Kennedy scooting out of dummy half, who slid over to open the scoring.....Archie Holding kicked the extras.
Eels 6 Raiders 0
Charlie Brand caught the restart & loaded up Malachy Watts Adams who returned the ball with interest, Will Bottone took the ball a little wider, breaking the line to make good metres, before Bailey Albert scooted hard to keep the momentum building.....5 metres out Jacob Smith shaped to pass left, Raiders bit & he stepped through to dot down.....Holding kicked the extras.
Eels 12 Raiders 0
Another strong set saw the Eels attack down the left flank, Gilmour hitting the shape with an out the back pass to Dylan Marshall, who attacked the line before releasing the French Flyer Rohann Bankole who sped down the wing, as he dived to score in the corner, the Rutlish Full Back came out of no where to make a great cover tackle, forcing Rohann in to touch.
Raiders came back strong, moving the ball early & breaking the Eels line to score just before the break.
HT Eels 12 Raiders 4
The Eels came out of the blocks fast in the second half, with Femi Sanya putting a huge hit, to force the knock on. A big carry from Sam Brindle took Brentwood forward, Smith loaded up Will Hammond who took it at pace, putting in some strong fends as he bounced off a couple of Rutlish defenders, broke the line & kept pumping his legs with a Raiders player in his back, as he fell to the ground, he offloaded to Findlay Gilmour who was in support, stretching his legs to dot down under the posts, best try of the day.....Holding kicked the extras.
Eels 18 Raiders 4
Raiders worked through their set, running some hard lines, before a well timed pass, saw their huge prop break the line & bounce a couple of Eels players, before crashing over to score.
Eels 18 Raiders 10
Raiders knock on from the restart, gave the Eels good field position, Ollie Frostick run a great line getting in behind markers, wide pass out from Kennedy saw Holding in space, who threw the dummy & slid over to score.....then converted his own try.
Eels 24 Raiders 10
Raiders came back again, their huge prop was proving difficult to contain, as he crashed over for his brace.
Eels 24 Raiders 14
Raiders completed their set, putting in a high kick on fifth & last, Scott Chitty kept sight of the balls flight & took a great catch, before loading up Bailey Albert who found the middle.....Some powerful carries from the Eels pack was starting to tighten the screw, incredible fitness from the big men, but it was Dylan Marshall at Full Back who bounced over the Rutlish defence to score.....Holding kicked the extras.
Eels 30 Raiders 14
With just ten minutes left, the Eels tails were up & they were looking composed, Ollie Frostick took the ball at pace 10m out, he ran straight at the Rutlish powerhouse Prop for the biggest collision of the day, the second & third tacklers came in, but Frostick had the bit between his teeth, driving the Rutlish front row back , before twisting out of the tackle & grounding the ball one handed over the stripe to score, another fantastic try......Holding kicked the extras.
Eels 36 Raiders 14
With just 4 minutes remaining, the Eels conceded a penalty for ripping the ball with two players in the tackle, Raiders fighting until the end, made the most of the field position, scoring a consolation try in the corner.
FT. Eels 36 Raiders 18
Tries - Ben Kennedy, Jacob Smith, Findlay Gilmour, Archie Holding, Dylan Marshall, Ollie Frostick
Conversions - Archie Holding 6/6
Eels Team
1 - Dylan Marshall
2 - Rohann Bankole
3 - Bailey Albert
4 - Harry Crellin
5 - Charlie Brand
6 - Archie Holding
7 - Findlay Gilmour
8 - Ollie Frostick (c)
9 - Ben Kennedy
10 - William Hammond
11 - Malachy Watts Adams
12 - Will Bottone
13 - Femi Sanya
14 - Scott Chitty
15 - Sam Crellin
16 - Jacob Smith