We travelled to face table-topping Northern, or was it Blaydon! On a dreadfully wet day, Park lined up with; Watson, Dunn, Blakey, Dawson, Austin, Wafer, Fidler, Bartle, Baldwin, Spowett, Gould, Walton, Conn, Berne, Barlow, subs, Purdy, Baker, Williamson and Cinema.
Early pressure by Park saw Northern handling in the ruck, but having signaled an infringement against Northern the referee then apologized and gave the decision against Blacks! Anyway Spowett soon had his first shot at goal, but as is the norm was nowhere near, but he soon turned the radar on, 3-0. Park were totally dominating up front, solid in the scrum and pressurizing the line-out. Wafer and Fidler were everywhere and dominating the breakdown, Dunn and Bartle were making strong charges. Park were kicking the corners well, were off-loading in the tackle and had their opponents worried, but despite total dominance Park could only manage another Spowett penalty 6-0. Then disaster, with Park battering the Northern line with a series of short drives young Spowett threw a long pass straight to the pacey Northern left winger who ran the full length to score under the posts. The only justice was that they missed the conversion.
At half-time, the referee approached the Park huddle to warn Park about their discipline, strange when they had been the dominant side but perhaps a warning for what was to come. Park started sluggishly and for the first time, Northern were able to apply pressure though this was partly due to Parks inability to clear their lines. Time after time clearance kicks went centre field to the waiting full-back and it was only a matter of time before they crossed the line. A harsh penalty for a high tackle saw the score go to 6-15. Indeed Park would have lost a player to the sin bin had the ref been able to remember who the guilty player was, but he soon identified Purdy who had only been on the field a matter of minutes, but long enough to be sent from it for foul and abusive language.
I need to get this into perspective. Park, as they had done all game, had driven the Northern scrum back but it was Park who were penalized as their opponents stood up when the pressure came on. A knock-on moments after this penalty brought about the possibility of another scrum. Parks rotund prop, then asked his opposite number is he would like to engage in a spot of scrumaging this time, but perhaps not in those exact words! Perhaps the ref thought he was officiating an under 13 match and sent the foul-mouthed Purdy to the stand. Despite this, Park rallied. Great pressure by Fidler on an attempted clearance kick, saw the flanker re-gather his charge down and score, 11-15 . The game was then settled in the next 10 minutes .
Parks tails were up and continued to press, setting up camp in the Northern 22. Park were awarded a penalty and chose the scrum. With possession won and Bartle looking set, the Northern scrum-half hoofed the ball but it lodged itself at Bartle’s feet but unseen by the ref. This forced Bartle to go, he was grounded inches short but with quick ball won the ball was spun into midfield but lost in the tackle, which allowed Northern to clear way into Park territory.
Then the strangest decision I have ever seen, a Park player after a tackle was pulled by the scruff of his neck onto an opponent’s knee. He was then thumped a couple of times for good measure before the scuffle was halted by players from both sides, the ref then banished the two players to the dressing room. Now down to 13 players Park finally succumbed and lost 11-25.
We played well and could should have won .There was a step up in performance, however more patience is required together with some kicking practice. We look forward to the return.