PBR Fight start slow, but come back for the win vs. DC Slayers
Philadelphia Fight takes record to 2-1 with a 42-26 win
Sal Ranniello and James Perry smash a slayer into losing the ball.
(Photos courtesy of Marvin Dangerfield Photography)
The (2-1) PBR Philadelphia Fight got by the (0-3) Washington DC Slayers 42-26. DC led 10-0 at the end of the first quarter, but couldn't hold off the Fight, who began to find their rhythm in the second period in front of a crowd of over 200.
The Fight were at home to the DC Slayers for a must win game last Saturday. With Aussie prop Nick O'Connor on the sideline with a sprained foot for the second week, it meant the remaining props had a hard time in the sweltering conditions at AA Garthwaite Stadium to over come a determined Slayers 42-26.
The Slayers, short on interchange players, put up a gallant showing with their light Aussie contingent capitalizing on the warm conditions to run the Fight around and skip to a 10 point lead at quarter time.
After a 25min delayed start, waiting for more players to arrive, the Slayers came out against a disjointed Fight who were up, then down for the commencement of play. The Slayers got off to a good start and quickly got to 10 - Nil after the first 20min. The Fight recovered in the next 2 quarters and put 34 un-answered points on the board by the end of the third quarter.
Backing off the gas by interchanging their more experienced players with those new to the game at the 3rd break, the Fight slipped down the leader-board in the 4th quarter conceding 14 points before recovering and
holding out the Slayers with a single try and a good win in the end.
The Fight props, Bascelli, Tully, Gabrielli and McKenzie interchanged
regularly to give the Fight some advantage around the ruck. Joe Bascelli
especially was making inroads on several occasions, Mike McKenzie got over
the line for a good try.
From the beginning of the second quarter Sal Ranniello stepped into the Hooker/dummy-half role and controlled the Fight's direction of play which brought about 6 tries in the following 40 minutes. Along with his determined defense, he skipped out and backed up for 2 tries which earned him the Fight's MVP player for the match.
Second-row Nathan Roach stormed onto the ball many times & came up with a 4 pointer for his efforts. He was well supported by lock and Aussie James Perry, playing his second game for the Fight.
While the forwards were kept hard at it, five-eighth Phil Shipos had another excellent game in both defense and attack. He almost made it 2 tries after being denied on his first attempt.
Pat Quirk, away from his usual role at full-back and making his debut at center, was rewarded with 2 excellent tries and a special mention from the coach for his tough effort.
Others worthy of a mention were full-back Rich Henson who returned the ball well from kicks fielded deep in his territory, winger Matt Worthington continues to improve each week with another solid performance, Jared Frymoyer was in a new role in the centers and never took a backward step continually probing when he got the chance either from out wide or from
dummy-half, Brad Kielinski had another solid Captain's 'knock' in showing the way, Daniel Gabrielli was strong in his charges up field, Joe Henson played some exciting football from the wing nearly getting over the line for the second week in a row and new comer to Rugby League and the Fight, Larry Madden who still has plenty to learn about the game had a couple of impact moments at second-row both with some sharp, hard running with the ball along with some bone-crunching defense.
Finally, the Fight's "little master", Michael Princic, playing at half-back, also directed play exceptionally well and snuck through some determined Slayers defense close to their line for a neat try. He also kicked 5 goals making his tally for the day 16 points.
The Fight have a 2 week lay-off to recover and prepare themselves for a mighty effort in a re-match with the Aston Bulls on July 10 at there home ground in Aston.
Standings (unofficial):
New Haven Warriors (3-0) 15pts
Aston DSC Bulls (3-0) 15pts
Philadelphia Fight (2-1) 11pts
New York Knights (2-1) 11pts
Jacksonville Axemen (2-0) 10pts
Fairfax Eagles (1-2) 6pts
Boston 13s (1-2) 5pts
Washington DC Slayers (0-2) 2pts
Connecticut Wildcats (0-2) 2pts
Pittsburgh Vipers (0-2) 0pts
Northern Raiders (0-2) 0pts
