Monday 11 February 2019

No Alarms and No Surprises

Hornets 6 - Toronto 58

There were no real surprises here. A team of full-time ex-NRL and Super League talent milking a £2m budget landed a perfunctory win over a part time team with a tenth of the resources. The end.

Indeed, Toronto Wolfpack rolled in like the circus it is: all 'look at me' fanfare, big-time Charlies and the dead-eyed joy of a bloke cracking a whip at a broken lion for the hundredth time to meagre squeals of sadistic delight.

Here at TLCRF80mins, we watch a lot of Rugby League - and seldom have we seen a team this good been so indifferent in the execution of its task. Slick? Yes. Strong? Yes. Well drilled? Undoubtedly.

However, even with their polish and quality they're hard to watch. Maybe it's the requirement to tread water in the Championship for another season that dulls the spark? Another year of pounding plucky part-time players whilst London Broncos undertake what should have been their victory tour of Super League. A sense of deja-vu. On Groundhog Day. All over again. No surprises there, either.

In the early exchanges, Hornets held firm, but when the Toronto cogs engaged they looked brutally frictionless - producing three quick-fire tries before the quarter mark. Firstly, Russell on the end of what would become a familiar looping shift to the left touchline, then Mellor backing up an O'Brien break on half way - the combination reversed on 19 minutes: O'Brien under the black dot and the visitors easing away at 0-16

Less than a minute later, Toronto found themselves stood under their own crossbar for the first time this season. Good approach work from Hornets took them close to the Wolfpack's line, where Adam Lawton's first touch in a Hornets jersey saw him haul defenders into the in-goal and score. Cue the music! Dan Abram slotted the extras and - briefly - we had a game on our hands.

Toronto's response was ruthlessly direct: Manly exile Lussick barrelling in from half a metre. Two minutes later that left-edge shift sent Leutele in out wide for 6-26. The only respite, Hornets newly signed Brandon Wood slamming Chase Stanley into Row E with a tackle that raised the main stand to its feet.

As the half drained away, Toronto's sheen became tainted by a rush of penalties: referee Mr Smith putting the visitors on a team warning that straddled the break. Within 5 minutes of the restart, Jon Wilkin was dispatched for what looked like the use of a shoulder.

Like all good circuses, the second half delivered a parade - six tries at regular intervals split evenly between one metre crash-overs and that seemingly unstoppable left-edge shift.

Russell out by the flag on 48 minutes; Stanley too strong on 53 minutes; Russell a carbon-copy hat-trick on 55 minutes; Emmitt backing in like a bin-wagon on the hour.

Then some respite as Hornets strove to push forward, but Toronto's defence proved immovable. Two late tries -  Russell's 4th (identical to its triplet predecessors) and Sidlow (slumping in on the siren) blew out the scoreline.

In the end, it was all a bit routine (or should that be 'poutine'?). The cameras got what they wanted, The Toronto circus rolls cheerlessly on and Hornets get to consider the fact that games like this won't define our season.

It's unlikely we'll play a faster, more skilful, better drilled side than this all season. The games that will make or break our Championship challenge will be against the sides in the lower half of the competition.

So, no reason to be alarmed. Nothing to see here. Move along.