Dominant Tigers tame Woodbridge

John Dibb’s Ely side kept hot on the heels of pace-setters West Norfolk with a crushing win at Woodbridge on Saturday.

Ely turned on the pressure from the first whistle, winning their own kick off and pushing forward before a fortuitous turnover allowed Woodbridge to clear their lines.

Ely continued to dominate for the next 15 minutes before finally converting their pressure into points courtesy of a penalty from Joel Scott Paul. Ely continued on the attack and some space worked by the backs was exploited by Ed Fahy, who crashed over for a converted try.

The Warriors were awarded a penalty for holding in the ruck and kicked it for three points but Ely came back strongly with two converted tries from Mitchell Kennett. The first of which was an inside ball from Scott Paul which pushed him over the line.

Kennett’s second required brute strength as he took three men with him over the line from a crash ball. Just before the end of the half, Ely gained a free-kick in the opposition twenty-two. Dan Coulson took it quickly and ran through the Warriors backline for a converted try under the posts.

With the wind on their side in the second half, Ely looked to finish the Warriors off and they turned over an opposition scrum early on, allowing man of the match Scott Paul to break through the defence and offload to Dave Kempers who touched down under the posts. Scott Paul converted.

Woodbridge started to fight back and Ely began to falter, giving away countless penalties. Woodbridge tapped it and went quickly, breaking through the Ely defence before it could set anew.

In the last fifteen minutes the Warriors went down to fourteen men through numerous injuries. Ely sought to manipulate this weakness, finding Harry Rogerson on the wing. He sprinted through the opposition defence to touch down under the posts for a converted try. In the last play of the match, Rogerson found space down the blindside and sprinted down the wing diving over for a converted try.