A game of two halves

Having struggled all week with players being unavailable the Gannets arrived at top of the table Leigh with a team made of many unfamiliar combinations and with a bare 15 players. The pack saw Jamie Feighery and Ashley Test packing down either side of the returning (for one time only!?) Harry Redsell with Martin's Taylor and Riley joining forces in the second row. Vidmantas Petrauskas and Matt Abbot formed the backrow with Mike Percival taking his regular position at number 8. Ben Baker and Harry Gillham joined forces in the half backs for the first time with Ryan Culmer and Ian Shuttlewood forming a brand new centre partnership. Perri Gallacher was in his regular position at full back joined by the returning welshmen Garrick and Gareth on the wings.

The match was preceded by a solemn minutes silence held in memory of Ellie Norkett, the young welsh rugby international and niece of Gareth Williams who had tragically died the previous week.

The Gannets kicked off fired up to make an early impression on their opposition and establish themselves on the game. The first few minutes appeared to pick up from where the previous game ended with the Gannets enjoying possession and controlling the phases in the opponents 22 but unable to make the break through. The home side succeeded in winning a couple of turnovers and relieving pressure before the visitors were able to return and continue building the pressure. After being awarded a penalty in a central position the Gannets took their opportunity to get points on the board from the increasingly reliable boot of Perri Gallacher.

The Gannets succeeded in returning to opposition territory following terrific work by the scrum in winning the ball against the head, a chip and chase by Ben Baker which he regathered in midfield and strong running from the centres. Further phases worked through the forwards led to Mike Percival making his way over the line for a try which Perri also converted.

Leigh were seemingly stung into action at this point and raised their game, scoring a try to bring the score back to 5-10 shortly before half time. After returning to the home side's 22 the Gannets were awarded another penalty from the last play of the half. This was also converted and half time saw the visitors 13-5 ahead. With no reinforcements available and the wind and sun no longer in their favour the Gannets were aware that they would be hard pushed to maintain their winning position in the second half.

This proved to be accurate. An injury to Harry Gillham and Martin Taylor's temporary blood absence following a cracking tackle with his nose, meant that part of the second half saw the visitors playing 13 against 15. This did not help the cause of the tiring visitors, many returning from long absences, who saw their opposition run in a number of tries throughout the second half.

Despite the eventual 53-13 scoreline, there remain positives for the Gravesend side. The first half performance demonstrated the ability of the team to match the best this league can offer when implementing their game plan plus the spirit and togetherness shown by those 15 players who did show up demonstrated the strength of the bond running throughout the team.

The Gannets return to action next week for a home fixture against Aylesford with 4 matches remaining for the season. Hopefully this will be a chance to gather more than 15 players together and to try and string together the positive elements seen throughout the season into an 80 minute performance.