A HOST of promising rugby league players stepped up to the plate for NEW Ravens in a hard-fought game against Nottingham Outlaws.
But their efforts were not enough to help their side from being shot down by their rampant opponents who ran out 48-8 winners last Saturday.
A total of seven players were aged 19 or under, while Ravens also gave three more their debuts for the club.
They all came through with flying colours as they tackled hard from the off and put together a strong defensive display in the early stages.
The wet and slippery conditions led to an error-filled opening half. Nottingham, however, demonstrated their class by chalking up six tries.
Ravens winger Rob White ran in a great blind-side try on the 15 minute mark, but the visitors proved too much as they opened up a 32-4 lead.
The second half developed into a much livelier affair with Ravens getting increasingly frustrated by the referee’s decisions.
Nottingham looked to take advantage of this, but the visitors refused to lay down as they scored following a perfect cross-field kick from captain Dave Swaysland, which was spectacularly touched down by full back Brad Sinclair.
It took until the 50th minute for the Outlaws to reply with a try off the back of several dubious penalties going Nottingham’s way.
Despite their comfortable position, the Outlaws became frustrated with the Ravens’ tenacity and it boiled over as one of their players clashed with prop Dylan Fennell, who retaliated.
Both players were sent to the sin-bin, but it was Nottingham who managed to score with the extra space on the pitch.
This seemed to motivate the battered and bruised Ravens in the final 25 minutes which was arguably their best defensive performance of the season.
The small squad worked as a team, scrambling for every tackle and put their bodies on the line to stop any further Nottingham advances.
Ravens showed superior fitness levels in the final period of defence but the energy draining efforts took its toll on the attack as the last pass continued to go astray.
The final act of the game saw Nottingham outskirt the exhausted Ravens line to score on the 80th minute.
Ravens play Boston Buccaneers at home tomorrow (Saturday) and U13s return to Nottingham on Sunday for a Midlands wide festival.
