SHEFFIELD HILLSBOROUGH HAWKS ARLFC PENNINE LEAGUE

 OPEN AGE MEN 2006-2007

The opposition this coming season in Pennine League Division 5 is as follows: Clayton A; Guiseley Rangers; Halifax Irish A; Keighley Town A; Moldgreen A; Park Amateurs A; Siddal B; Thornton; West Craven; Woodhouse; York Groves .

Pennine League Division 5 - Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks Open Age

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The Hawks will be looking to bounce back .....more

Photo Gallery 2006-2007

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  Hillsborough Hawks v Rotherham Roosters Pre-Season Warm Up Match .... 19th August 2006

Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks (12) 30 Rotherham Roosters (28) 40

In this local derby "friendly" between two teams two divisions apart the rivalry was surpassed only by the good nature the game was played in.
On a very mixed day for the weather the two sides looked eager to get started and I think one of the fastest tries ever scored in rugby league was scored in this encounter.
Sheffield kicked off, with a high ball to the right where the Rotherham defender lost control on his try line and Joe Barber was on hand to pick up the lost ball and go over and score on the 10 second mark. He successfully converted his own try. It was a dream start for the Hawks and they managed to continue to put pressure on the Rotherham defence and it took until the 16th minute before the Roosters managed to get on the score sheet with an unconverted try by Ben Moore. Rotherham then exerted continual pressure on the Hawks line and they withheld the onslaught only for another 4 minutes before Dan Lynch went over and Bryn Evans slotted over the extras. $ minutes later the old war horse Craig Weston managed to clock up the 3rd Roosters try, also converted by Evans. Another 4 mins of pressure and Chris Bell scored and again Evans converted giving the Roosters a comfortable 16 point lead, but the Hawks were not throwing the towel in and put in a good display of hard tackling, good ball control a penalty for ripping and Mick Wall went in to score for the Hawks which Joe Barber converted. The last points of the half were scored by the Roosters number 14 Howard Williams who made light work of some slack Hawks defence. Evans added the extras.

The second half was played at a similar pace to the first and the Hawks , through Leon Malcolm-Downes went in for the Hawks third and his 1st try which Barber converted, on the 41st minute and the Hawks supporters and players really felt that with only 10 points difference that all was not lost. Rotherham were shaken by this start to the half and were guilty of committing a couple of fouls which resulted in two penalties awarded to the Hawks in the third minute for having a hand in between the legs and then an atrocious high tackle. The coaches wanted the Hawks to run the ball as it was only 15 metres from the Roosters line, but for some reason better known to the players, they opted for the kick and the normal reliable boot of Joe Barber let him down.

It took Rotherham until the 51st minute before they got on the scoreboard again with a 2nd try from Lynch converted yet again by Evans. Although on the 46 minute Chris Herbert broke the Hawks defence and only had to put the ball down on the line, but he decided to make a complete mess of it and throw the ball at the ground. This was a very helpful let off for the Hawks, but then the experienced Craig Weston went in for his second try which was converted by Chris Jazinski and to many a supporter they thought that Rotherham had really finished off the Hawks. How wrong they were. The Hawks never gave up and after putting the Roosters to the test for defending Malcolm-Downes went on a charge down the wing and scored his second try converted by Barber. It did take another 10 minutes of pressure before the Roosters line was broken again by Ricky Gregory, converted again by Barber. Rotherham didn't add to their score and the Hawks had brought an air of respectability to their score and infact out played and outscored Rotherham in the second half by 18 points to 12.

A good game played at high speed and some excellent tackling and skills shown by both sides.

Some action : Click HERE for a matchday gallery

Game Stats:
Hawks scorers: Tries- Barber (10seconds); Wall (32); Malcolm-Downes (41,64); Gregory (74). Goals : Barber 5/6
Roosters scorers: Tries- Moore B (16); Lynch (20, 51); Weston (24,53); Bell (28); Williams (38) Goals: Evans 5/6; Jazinski 1/1
Scrums awarded to Hawks: Knock-ons (30,34,47,59,2,64,72) Ball put in touch (13)
Scrums awarded to Roosters: Knock-ons (3,9,15,22,26,29,33,58,71,77) Man in Touch (11)

Penalties Hawks (5) 14 Roosters (5) 7
5 of the penalties awarded to Hawks were for ripping, 3 for high tackles, 2 for off-side, 2 for swinging arms, 1 for playing the ball incorrectly and 1 for an arm between the legs at a tackle.
Hawks gave away penalties as follows : Ball out on full at a restart = 3; 2 holding down,1 off-side and 1 high tackle.

Teams:
Hawks:- Whales, Barlow, Malcolm-Downs, Caldwell, Simpson, Gregory, Barber, Cowley, Wood, Wall, Allen, Pursehouse, Holt, Watson, Travis
Roosters:- Moore B; Concannon; Harris M, Harris R; Herbert; Evans; Moore S; Archer; Bell; Haigh; Jazinski; Burns; Weston; Williams; Lynch.
 

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Pennine League Division 5
Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks (18) 30 Halifax Irish "A" (4) 20

Barber's 14 point haul gives Hawks a good start to the season

In absolutely appalling conditions of driving rain and wind Hawks kicked off their campaign with a useful win against an enthusiastic Halifax Irish side. Hawks didn't score their first try until the 9th minute when Malcolm-Downs broke the Halifax defence and went in for a good try which gave Joe Barber the chance to open his account with a good conversion. He went on to convert all of the Hawks tries including one of his own. The game was played at a good pace for the season's opener and Hawks started to show that their winter exploits had start to come to fruition and were playing as a "team". Harry Whales got the chance to score the Hawks second after 15 mins and then Gregory fought his way over the line to give the Hawks an excellent start and 18 point advantage over the Irish. By this time Halifax had conceded 6 needless penalties for holding down in the tackle and answering the referee back. Composure was brought to the team and on the 34th min Hawk's defence was found wanting. O'Halloran managed to go in for his first try which Howard attempted to convert from just to the left hand side of the posts, but having to have a ball holder put the extra strain on the kick and he managed to give the upright a good clout but not actually convert the try.
The second half was played by two completely different teams. Well that is what it appeared to be. Hawks lost the shape and direction and Halifax were keen to eliminate the 14 point deficit of the first half. After 54 minutes, Halifax had been awarded a further 6 penalties for daft incidents which Hawks need to address in the future, and O'Halloran went in for his 2nd try of the afternoon and with a "new" kicker in Wadsworth, managed to claw themselves back to an eight point deficit. The giving away of penalties was only surpassed by the 9 scrums awarded for knock-ons by both teams. On the 61st Barton brought the two teams even closer with a try which should not have been scored if the Hawks had been awake. Thankfully Wadsworth made a complete hash of the conversion attempt, and Hawks kept a 4 point cushion for a further 6 minutes when the ball was passed to Caldwell, who then took advantage of a powerful run and weak tackling to score directly under the posts. Duly converted by Barber.
Hawks started to play as a unit again and Gamel Kassim hoisted a high bomb on the Halifax 30 yard line and the Halifax defence made a meal of the collection of it and that allowed an easy run in try for Barber which he took to under the posts for an easy conversion attempt.

Indiscipline and tiredness began to show on both sides and Lomas was punished for a high tackle, (Ed- which missed !), and was given a yellow card on the 78th minute. This allowed Halifax a chance to exert some pressure on the Hawks line, which paid off with a try for their captain Gleeson which Howard converted.
An excellent result for Hawks, plenty to work on in training and a game played in an excellent spirit.

Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks: Whales, Malcolm-Downs, Barber, Simpson, Barlow, Caldwell, Gregory, Wall, Lomas ©, Hall, Allen, Travis, Perry, Kassim, Cowley, Heyes, Pursehouse.
Halifax Irish: Wadsworth P , Brown, Howard, Murphy, Wood, Williams, Wadsworth D, Graham, Gleeson, Ashton, Sharples, O'Halloran, Norman, O'Byrne, Copping, Quick, Barton.
Scorers:
Hawks: Malcolm -Downs (8); Whales (15); Gregory (24); Caldwell (67); Barber (71). Goals: Barber 5/5
Irish : O'Halloran (34,54); Barton (61); Gleeson (78).Goals : Wadsworth 1/2 Howard 1/2

Penalty Count: Sheffield 7 Halifax 15
Scrums: Head & Feed : Sheffield 11 Irish 13
Drop outs: Irish 2 (14th & 63rd mins); Hawks 1 (25th min)
Sin Bin : Simon Lomas 79th min (High Tackle)
Referee: Mick Croft (Leeds)

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Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks (32) 66 Woodhouse Warriors (8)14..... 9th September 2006

Hawks demolish Warriors in 11 try assault

An 11 try assault on Woodhouse takes Hawks to the top of the league. Hawks were able to secure their 2nd win in as many games with a comprehensive display of good handling and excellent defence to put 66 points past the Leeds side. 7 different try scorers with Vince Caldwell notching up a creditable 4 and the discovery of a new goal kicker in prop Simon Travis, who slotted over 4 goals.
The game started with both sides being awarded penalties which they both converted into points and it was all square for the first 14 minutes of the game. Hawks then hit the line with 4 tries and a penalty (24 points) in the space off 16 minutes, and never looked back. Woodhouse clawed back a little of the defecit with a try by Hudson, converted by Calvert but Vince Caldwell finished the half off with his 2nd try and a conversion by prop Simon Travis.
There was little respite for the Leeds outfit and Caldwell scored his 3rd try within a minute of the restart, and apart from a converted try on the 49th minute for Woodhouse, the Hillsborough Hawks continued to cross the whitewash on a regular basis until the 68th minute when Whales crossed for his 2nd and the Hawks last try.
Brown of Woodhouse was red carded for "running into a brawl" on 53 minutes and Hawks captain Lomas had a 10 minute rest after 12 minutes for a high tackle.

Match Action
7th min Pen kicked by Joe Barber H H
12 min Pen kicked by Jamie Calvert WW
14 min Try by Ash Simpson Con Joe Barber
16 min Try by Vince Caldwell Con Joe Barber
22 min Pen kicked by Joe Barber
27 min Try by Neil Harrison Con Joe Barber
30 min Try by Michael Wall missed con
36 min Try by Germain Hudson Con Jamie Calvert
38 min Try by Vince Caldwell Con Simon Travis ( Goalkicking Prop)
Half -Time Hillsboro' Hawks 32 Woodhouse 8
41 min Try by Vince Caldwell con Joe Barber
44 min Try by Richard Allen missed con
49 min Try by Lee Longbottom con Jamie Calvert
59 min Try by Vince Caldwell (4th try) con Joe Barber
61 min Try Simon Lomas con Simon Travis
65 min Try Harry Whales con Simon Travis
68 min Try Harry Whales con Simon Travis

Sin bin 12 min Simon Lomas Hillsboro' (High Tackle)
Sent off 53 min Martin Brown Woodhouse (Running in to Brawl)
Penalties Hillsboro' 11 Woodhouse 9 : Scrums Hillsboro' 8 Woodhouse 8 : Ref Jonathan Roberts (Leeds)

Scorers Tries: Caldwell V (4); Whales(2) ; Harrison; Wall; Allen; Lomas; Simpson; Goals: Barber - 7 Travis - 4
Hawks: 1. Harry Whales 2. Dylan Barlow 3. Joe Barber 4. Joe Bradley 5. Nick Wood 6. Nathan Hall 7. Neil Harrison 8. Simon Travis 9. Simon Lomas (Captain) 10. Greg Pursehouse 11. Vince Caldwell 12. Ash Simpson 13. Richard Allen 14. Gamel Kassim 15. Michael Wall 16. Mick Heyes 17. James Caldwell

Woodhouse Warriors : 1. Kevin Fitzgerald 2. Germain Hudson 3. Jamie Calvert 4. Danny Broxholme 5. Lee Fiddes 6. Nick Thorpe 7. Sean Calvert 8. Phil Clayforth 9. Joseph Debill 10. Lee Longbottom 11. Lee Oxterby 12. Paul Jennings 13. Martin Brown 14. Gary Clayforth 15. Mick Clayforth 16. Darren Cox 17. Matthew Jackson
 

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West Craven Warriors (14) 20 Hillsborough Hawks (8) 26 ... 16th September 2006

Caldwell carries on from where he left off last week. Scores 2nd consecutive hat-trick, scores in 3rd consecutive game (8 tries now), Harry Whales scores a try in his 3rd consecutive game.

Vince Caldwell playing at Centre notched up another 3 tries in this match very much of 4 distinct quarters, putting him as top points scorer for the Hawks with 8 tries and a goal in 3 games (34 points). Joe Barber now on 28 points with a try and 12 goals.

After an agonising long drive to the middle of no-where (well the picturesque town of Barnoldswick), having left in mist, low cloud and generally damp conditions, I actually drove through Todmorden when it wasn't raining. We arrived at the ground in brilliant sunshine and warmth. The multi-cambered pitch which sloped up to both ends and was similar to the Huddersfield Underbank ground of a top to bottom slope as well, gave rise to an interesting prospect of what could be a game of two halves, depending who went uphill first.

Hawks got off to the start they wanted after the 2 hour drive, and a kick-off 20 minutes late, a superb try in the corner (on two minutes) for last week's try hero, Vince Caldwell, which was not converted by Joe Barber. After a couple of handling errors, and some pedantic incorrect refereeing decisions Craven were up to the Hawks line. Hawks were penalised on the 6th minute for a tackle before the ball was played and then the ref insisted the front foot should be behind the line at the ensuing play. Richard Milner used his size to get over the whitewash to draw the scores level and then prop and captain, Adrian Marsden slotted over the conversion , to give Craven a lead which they held onto for a further 60 minutes. After a succession of handling errors (knock-ons) and indiscipline (talking back to the referee) by both sides, the deadlock was broken again on the 21st minute with a well worked try by Craven, which broke the defensive line of Hawks, allowing Mark Smith to run in virtually unopposed, and thankfully for Hawks Marsden missed the kick. After 4 more knock-ons (2 by each side) Hawks' super try scorer was over again on the 28th minute. Some good handling resulted in Vince setting up a difficult kick for Gamel Kassim to attempt from the touch line. Hawks were back in it at 10 - 8 but 5 minutes and 3 penalties later, Craven's other large prop, Mark Cragg got himself over the line to give Craven a 14 - 8 half-time lead. (Well after 39 minutes !!) Hawks could have done with a full compliment of players. One sub; Slatts as non playing sub and coach and two players down to play and on the team sheet who did not materialise. Not the sort of thing a top of the table team wants.

The 13 "fit" players did not give up. The older men Kassim and Mick Heyes played their skins out. The youngsters, Michael Wall, Nick Wood and Luke Holt showed superb commitment and never say die attitude. The rest of team all deserve a mention because they pulled together to grind out a win, although the second half started with further scores for Craven on the 43rd minute, a try for Marsden, converted by Colvin, which had followed a penalty awarded for an accidental trip (a new ruling invented for the day by the ref !) by a Hawks player 10 yards from their own line. No complaints by anyone. Hawks now down 20 - 8, but that was the end of Craven's scoring and the start of the revival for Hawks.

Luke Holt on the 49th minute started the comeback with a well taken try, in the "bottom" corner which was well missed by Kassim and then a period of to-ing and fro-ing for both teams until Neil Harrison ran onto a superb ball to break through the Craven defence. Caldwell (V) took over kicking duties and only just failed with the conversion. A couple of minutes later that man Caldwell was on the end of a pass to go over for his 8th try of the season and his 2nd consecutive hat-trick. He then converted his own try. Hawks had retaken the lead on the 67th minute and one they had not had since the 6th minute.

Tensions were high, the rugby was being played without the errors and Hawks wanted to hold on but with their players really needing a rest, but with no subs, they soldiered on. On the 73rd minute Ricky Gregory put over a beautiful chip kick, was obstructed on the run through, but Harry Whales was on hand to back up and field the ball and get himself over the try line. Unfortunately Vince could not convert the try but with the ref in desperate need of a watch that worked, he called time on 37 mins 1.59 secs and Hawks had achieved what looked impossible.

Match Stats:

West Craven Warriors: Luke Butler; Lee Dickinson; Gary Lancaster; Paul Johns; Brendan Simpson; Stephen Ansell; Tom Handforth; Adrian Marsden (C); Chris Thomas (also wore no 12 shirt); Mark Cragg; Tony Wilson ; James Hacking (the other no 12); Adam Dix; Mark Smith; Aidan Colvin; Tom Finlay; Richards Milner.

Scorers: Milner (6); Smith (21); Cragg (33); Marsden (43) Goals: Marsden 1/3; Colvin 0/1

Hawks: Harry Whales; Dylan Barlow; Joe Barber; Vince Caldwell; Leon Malcolm-Downs; Gamel Kassim (C); Ricky Gregory; Luke Holt; Nick Wood; Michael Wall; Richard Allen; Mick Heyes; Neil Harrison; James Caldwell; Joe Bradley (did not turn up); Mark Slatter (Unused + Coach); Greg Pursehouse (did not turn up).

Scorers; Caldwell V ( 2; 28; 67) ;Holt ( 49); Harrison (64) ; Whales ( 73).

Scrums: Head & Feed to Craven 9 : Hawks 7 [ 12 knock on, 2 forward pass, 1 Man in touch; 1 ball in touch]

Penalties: Craven 8 Hawks 8 [Reasons - holding down 2; tackle opponent before play of ball 1; off-side 2; talking at/back at ref 4; not square 2; ripping 2; accidental trip 1; crossing 1; running through 1]

Other incidents: 61 mins Hawks player lifted and was "thrown" and lost the ball (understandably) and knock on given instead of penalty for foul play. 72 mins Leon MD "thrown" close to spear tackle - nothing awarded.

Referee : Very poor - all technicalities

Open age player's quote: Tough game this weekend - I'm glad that trip is out of the way. I was pleased with the way we responded to the half time rocket-up-the-arse and rescued the game. Didn't think it was a particularly bad tempered game either - both sides were too knackered to scrap!!! Gam, Harry and Leon were outstanding again - quite obviously a cut above the rest of the division so far...............

Speaking of Gam .............was awarded, ............  Man of Match,

Photo by Jane McGuigan

 and in the ensuing competition with W Cravens MOM (Chris Thomas), beat him hands down in their celebratory 'one on one' competition in The Greyhound afterwards. (So eating and drinking still part of Gam's CV !!)"

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Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks (16) 26 Siddal "B" (14) 18............Saturday 23^rd September 2006

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Moldgreen (8) 8 Hillsborough Hawks (20) 34...30th September 2006

Hawks clock up another good win with a solid performance at the highly impressive Moldgreen Complex. Beautiful warm sunny day, 6 tries 4 conversions and a penalty to 2 unconverted tries. Absolutely outstanding match.

Snippets: Shorty made  a short comeback as a winger !!; Nathan Hall on a fitness comeback; Gam the play-maker. (Never says no- refusing to have a rest); Joe Barber with kicking boots; 21 minutes at start of second half, a real stalemate with no scores at all; Penalties awarded to Sheffield 9 Moldgreen 2; Scrums Head and ball to Sheffield 9 Moldgreen 8; All 9 to Hawks for Knock-ons, 6 of the 8 to MG for the same and a forward pass and ball in touch; 2 dropouts (1 on each side); 1 sinbin: - P Taylor of Moldgreen on 33 minutes for talkback at referee; Excellent food, cheap beer and good set of lads. !!

Depleted Hawks Still Top

 The Hawks made it 5 wins out of 5 with a convincing defensive display against a big Moldgreen side. Injuries to key personnel left the Hawks struggling to turn out a full side, with the still injured Craig Short donning a kit for the first time since his injury in summer.

Hillsborough started out the quickest, with some good attacking creating gaps in the Moldgreen defence, but they couldn’t capitalise and convert the pressure into points. A see-saw 10 minutes saw both sides throw everything but the kitchen sink, but the ever improving Hawks defence hold firm.

A good set from the forwards got the Hawks within 30m of the line, and when I high bomb from Caldwell caused confusion in the Moldgreen defence, Richard Allen was on hand to score comfortably. Joe Barber added the extras. He stretched the lead 5 minutes later with another perfectly taken penalty kick.

Moldgreen came back into the game on the back of some good pressure by the forwards, and after being held up on the line after some last gasp defending from Nathan Hall, the forced their way over down the other wing through Ward.

The game continued to be evenly matched across the pitch, with neither side letting up on the work rate leaving very little space for the Hawks to exploit. They did eventually find a gap, when some good vision from Ricky Gregory found Hall and Caldwell, who moved the ball quickly to Barber for him to power over near the touchline. Yet again, he brought his kicking boots and slotted over from a hefty distance, stretching the lead back to 10 points.

With the initiative firmly in their grasp, Sheffield began turning the screw, and thanks to some good groundwork from Luke Holt and Michael Wall, Leon Malcolm-Downs found a gap, left the markers for dead, turned the full back inside out and breezed through from 40 yards out. Some great halfback play from Gamel Kassim nearly created another try, but the Hawks were again unable to finish off a promising move.

Moldgreen reduced the deficit before halftime, after a suspect knock on went unseen, and with Hillsborough half asleep, Scaif crossed for their 2^nd try.

That was as good as it got for Moldgreen. Despite a first 5 minutes blitz at the start of the 2^nd half, they never managed to get through the Hawks defence. Rob Ridgley led from the front, with a man-of-the-match winning defensive performance, ably helped by Kassim and Ashley Simpson. A further boost was the sight of Short playing for 10 minutes, his first appearance since a serious knee injury.

Kassim continued to cause Moldgreen all kinds of problems, and when he used Caldwell and Holt as dummy runners, Harry Whales collected the short ball and cruised past the full back, for one of the best tries Hawks have scored this year. Neil Harrison continued to keep Moldgreen on the back foot, and his runs from acting half were rewarded with a solo try to put the game beyond the home side.

The rest of the half was spent camped in Moldgreen's 3^rd, and after coming close on numerous occasions, Kassim again supplied a great pass to Barber, who had the sense of mind to offload to Simpson and, with what he classes as a “great turn of pace”,  beat his opposite man and scored in the corner.

Report VC

Now the action !! (What really happened !)

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SHEFFIELD HILLSBOROUGH HAWKS (30) 52 KEIGHLEY (12) 12 .......7th October 2006

Match Gallery ......HERE

Stott scores sensational double on his debut: Hawks now unbeaten in 6 games

Lynton scores one of his debut tries !

Lynton Stott, coach to Hillsborough Hawks made his debut as a player and marked with a disallowed try with his second touch of the ball and a try with the third touch. He ca