» June 17th 2001
» Town 34 : 10 Swinton

Town knew that to reach the play-offs they had to win their remaining fixtures and hope for a few results elsewhere to go in their favour. Those results went in their favour and Town have now moved into 9th position, edging closer to the play-offs after seeing off Swinton.

Since last week's pulsating performance against Leigh, everyone expected Town to dispose of the visitors with relative ease. Swinton had not read the script and a valiant effort from them, combined with an erratic first half performance from Town, saw the home team trailing 0 -10 at halftime. In the second half Town cut out the mistakes and put Swinton under sustained pressure which resulted in them running in 6 tries without response from the visitors.

It was Town who nearly scored the first points of the day when they were awarded a scrum on the Swinton 40-metre line after a knock-on. Matthew Woodcock almost made the clean break from the first drive from the scrum. More Town drives brought them closer to the Swinton line. On the last tackle Stuart Hoyles collected the pass from Lynton Stott and was only prevented from scoring by a try-saving tackle by the fullback.

The Town forwards were making good yards with the ball and in the 6th minute, drives from Matt Sturm and Hitro Okesene saw them again pushing forward. Stott used the kick through and the Town chasers put pressure on the Swinton defence who were forced to drop-out from under the posts.

After the opening 10 minutes Swinton started to grow with confidence and in the 14th minute they started to put Town under pressure. The ball was kicked out on the full by a Town player on the last tackle. From the turnover Swinton used the ball well and a neat little kick through had the Town defence on the back foot. A good chase from Nick Nanyn put the pressure on the defence and resulted in Town having to drop-out themselves from under the posts.

Town regained the initiative for a while two minutes later. A loose ball regained them possession close to halfway, drives from Matt Sturm and Hitro Okesene again gaining the yards. The ball was swung wide to Kevin Hetherington who went on an arcing run, rounding the defence before sprinting down the line and going in at the corner. The score was ruled out after the referee deemed that the ball had not been grounded correctly.

The halfback pairing of Gallagher and Veivers began slowly to take control in the last 20 minutes of the half. A good break from loose forward Paul Smith saw him reach the halfway line before he was caught. Hooker Rob Barraclough again pushed the attack before a forward pass on the Town 10-metre line stopped the momentum.

Town did not keep the possession long and a forward pass on the second tackle gave Swinton the scrum on the home side's 20-metre line. From the scrum Rob Gallagher was allowed to run along the line and he swung the ball wide to winger Mike Woods who went in unopposed at the corner to score the first points of the day. Nick Nanyn missed with the conversion attempt.

The pressure increased on Town after the kick-off went out on the full and Swinton were awarded the penalty on the halfway line. Swinton used the ball well, but Steven Wood collected the high kick on the last tackle easily.

Swinton found themselves having to defend in the 32nd minute. Good Town handling soon had them making the yards and when the ball came to Graeme Lewthwaite he cut inside, drew in the defence and raced for the line. Sensing that the defence were closing in on him he elected to pass out to the supporting John Allen but a Swinton defender reached the ball in mid-air and knocked the ball back towards his own in-goal area. Carl Sice gave chase but was beaten to the ball by the Swinton defence close to the line.

The visitor's lead was extended in the last minute of the half. Swinton were awarded a penalty after interference in the tackle from Gary Charlton. Prop Mike Loughlin and then Rob Barraclough both made good drives that brought them close to the Town line. The ball was passed inside to the supporting Rob Gallagher who burst through to score under the posts. Nick Nanyn was successful with the conversion and Swinton went in with a 0-10 lead at halftime.

The second half saw the introduction from the bench of the playmaker Tane Manihera. His arrival soon had the desired effect for Town.

Swinton continued to attack straight from the kick-off. They forced Town to defend and used the high kick on the last, Steven Wood again taking the ball with ease. Drives from Graeme Lewthwaite, Matt Sturm, Lokeni Savelio and Carl Sice soon had Town deep inside the Swinton half. On the last Tane Manihera put in a low testing grubber kick that resulted in a knock-on and Town getting the scrum on the Swinton 10-metre line. The ball was passed from the scrum to Tane Manihera who released Lynton Stott with a peach of a pass that saw the centre run into the gap and on to score. Kevin Hetherington kicked the conversion to reduce the Swinton lead to 6-10.

Town continued to attack well and the drives from all the forwards were getting them into the positions from where Tane Manihera could put in the testing kicks. When Swinton did have the ball they were unable to crack the Town line and had to depend on the high kicks to try and turn the Town defence around. The Town defence, especially the fullback Steven Wood, dealt with these high kicks.

Swinton were forced to defend and this they did well, halting Town attacks until the 59th minute. Again, punishing drives from the Town forwards brought them deep into the Swinton half. A kick through from Steven Wood was dealt with and Swinton knocked-on close to the line. From the scrum Graeme Lewthwaite ran at the defence and was tackled close to the line. From the play of the ball Carl Sice powered over to score. Kevin Hetherington added the conversion to put Town into the lead.

After an initial break from Carl Sice in the 64th minute, Gary Charlton was able to create the space for Hitro Okesene to get a good run at the Swinton line. The powerful forward burst through the line and showed that he has a sidestep before stretching for the line to score under the posts. Kevin Hetherington again adding the conversion.

The Swinton fullback and Gary Charlton both collided whilst chasing down a kick on the last tackle from Tane Manihera in the 70th minute. Charlton went off to the blood bin, Wayne Jackman needed treatment on the field before he was stretchered off with a suspected jaw injury.

Owen Williamson got onto the score sheet after 72 minutes. He was able to bust through weak Swinton tackling after drives from Hitro Okesene and Matt Sturm had split their line, the little hooker handing-off the final tackle as he went in to score. Kevin Hetherington was again successful with the conversion kick to further extend the Town lead to 24-10.

Steven Wood provided Neil Frazer with a try on 75 minutes. The fullback put out a good pass to the winger, who went in at the corner. Kevin Hetherington missed with the conversion attempt from out wide.

Hitro Okesene made a great break in the last minute after a pass from Lynton Stott created the space. The powerful forward ran at the defence and threw the dummy before passing inside to the supporting Carl Sice who went in to score under the posts. Kevin Hetherington added the conversion to make the final score 34-10.

Teams
Town: Steven Wood, Matthew Woodcock, Neil Frazer, John Allen, Graeme Lewthwaite, Kevin Hetherington, Lynton Stott, Matt Sturm, Owen Williamson, Hitro Okesene, Stuart Hoyles, Anthony Samuel, Gary Charlton
Subs: Tane Manihera, Lokeni Savelio, Carl Sice, David Humes

Swinton: Wayne Jackman, Ade Mead, Nick Nanyn, Matt Bateman, Mike Woods, Rob Gallagher, Phil Veivers, Mike Loughlin, Rob Barraclough, Lee Hansen, Phil Cushion, Gareth Chambers, Paul Smith
Subs: Danny Butler, John-Paul Doherty, Jim Evans, Ian Lewis

Attendance: 737
Referee: Paul Lee (Tyldesley)