A Stroll in the park?
A well earned rest?
By Martyn Horwell
October 9 2008
This Saturday sees another away day for Leeds Carnegie, but this weeks journey is a hop, skip, and a jump across the Pennines to visit Sedgeley Park. After 2 league games, the Tigers were sitting in second place in the table, following two emphatic victories, but since then they have come up against 3 of the more fancied sides in ND1.
Although only narrowly beaten at Nottingham, heavy defeats by the Welsh and, last week at Exeter, plus a disappointing home defeat to Coventry, have seen them slip to 12th place, and on all known form, there is little prospect of improving their position this coming Saturday. All of Sedgeley's fixtures have been high scoring affairs, and I can't see this week being any exception.
After stuttering through phases of the early games, Leeds are now beginning to look like a side more than good enough to gain promotion, and last weeks display in Richmond was by all accounts the best display of the season. They are attacking with purpose, and defending with a discipline that has seen them keep a clean sheet in the last two fixtures.
There will, no doubt, be changes made to the Leeds line up this week, but the ones I anticipate will not significantly weaken the side. Providing everybody axcept Villi is available, I expect to see Blackett, Henry Paul, Strange, Clark, Lund and Danny Paul in the squad, along with any 2 or 3 of Armstrong, Boyde, White, Freer, Wackett and Denton, and I am sure whoever is selected, all 22 players will have a gallop on Saturday. A rest for Mac, Fourie and Oakley would not go amiss.
Hopefully there will be a good gathering of Carnegie fans making the relatively short trip, and cheering the lads on to a pretty convincing win. I get little enjoyment from seeing one sided games, but I think we will see a very professional performance from Leeds, the bonus point try will be secured within the first 30 minutes, and the extra fitness and speed of the professional side will be too much for the hosts, and I expect a big Leeds win.
I would expect our closest challengers to pick up comfortable wins this week as well, (although Ex have a tricky trip to Plymouth), but we are firmly in the driving seat, and it is for them to worry about us. To be 5 points clear of the field after only 6 games is better than most of us could have hoped for having seen the opening fixtures, and, yes, there is a long way to go, but we are just that bit nearer than our rivals. We should not lose any momentum this week.
Time to get a new car mate!
Quick to judge
Quick to anger
Slow to understand
Ignorance and prejudice
and fear walk hand in hand
Tigers put up a good fight against us.
Still a Tyke - whatever the name!
Quick to judge
Quick to anger
Slow to understand
Ignorance and prejudice
and fear walk hand in hand
David
Anyway, we beat them 35-20 at home, but were level 17-17 at half time.
Still a Tyke - whatever the name!
Oh and I'm going in a Carnegie top Yep I've thought about it all week and decided I have to wear it
Some say he has a Tykes flag with team signatures on.
Others say that he's doing the same to the Carnegie flag,
All we know is that he's called Leeds carnegie signed flag.