» April 1st 2001
» Town 24 : 18 Hull KR

Workington Town today consolidated their position in the top six of the league and showed that they possess commitment and character after storming back from a 6 - 18 deficit to claim the game in the dying minutes.

Much had been made about this game being a battle between the forwards. The early exchanges saw both sides playing a defensive game.

In the first half Town enjoyed the better of the possession and the scoring chances, but a twenty minute spell at the start of the second half saw the home side fall asleep and the advantage swung in favour of Hull. A valiant fight back in the last 15 minutes saw Town draw level and eventually claim the match with a last minute score.

Town had made a few tactical changes to the team. Matt Sturm had been moved to the front row and William Blackburn would get a starting place. Hitro Okesene would start from the bench as would Fata Sini who had been replaced on the wing by Jonathan Heaney.

Town started well and made good yards with the ball in hand. Tane Manihera was the pivot for all the early exchanges. Hull seemed to adopt the spoiling tactic of holding in the tackle and this went unpunished by the referee until the 7th minute. Interference at the play of the ball by the Hull defence saw the penalty awarded to Town. Tane Manihera was successful with the kick to put Town into a 20 lead.

Both sides were solid in defence in the following exchanges. Each side used the ball to gain the yards and launched deep kicks to try and gain the advantage. Handling errors from both sides saw possession change several times. It was Town who had the better of the opportunities.

On 9 minutes William Blackburn made the break, raced clear of the defence and ran 30 metres before attempting to pass out of the tackle to the supporting Graeme Lewthwaite, the pass was knocked on, but it was not an easy ball to collect.

On 11 minutes Town had another chance. Lynton Stott collected the ball from the kick through and ran at the Hull defence. He drew the defence and passed out to Graeme Lewthwaite who burst the defensive line and ran 40 metres before being tackled.

The Town lead was to be extended on 16 minutes. Town were awarded penalty after Lokeni Savelio was tackled without the ball. Tane Manihera kicked the penalty to extend the Town lead to 4 - 0.

Good work from the forwards, especially Jamie Beaumont, Matt Sturm and Anthony Samuel saw Town again enjoy the better of the possession. Tane Manihera and Lynton Stott were both trying to break the Hull line with penetrating kicks. Both sides were cancelling each other out with good defence.

A penalty against Owen Williamson for ripping out the ball after 25 minutes was to give Hull their first points of the day. The successful kick reduced Town's lead to 4 - 2.

Again both sides showed excellent defence and soaked up the pressure put upon them. Both sides were playing a tactical game and trying to gain the territorial advantage with searching kicks deep into each other's half.

Town broke the deadlock on 31 minutes. Lynton Stott took the kick through and with two excellent side steps he made space for himself and released Graeme Lewthwaite who raced on 35 metres before being tackled. From the play of the ball Town were awarded a penalty for offside just inside the Hull half. Tane Manihera elected to kick and floated a beautiful kick between the posts to put Town into a 6 - 4 lead.

Tane Manihera created another opportunity on 38 minutes. Deep in his own half he launched a searching 40/ 20 kick into the Hull half. The ball found touch and Town were awarded the scrum. Lynton Stott took the ball from the scrum and was tackled into touch on the first tackle.

There were to be no further scores in the first half and Town went in at the hooter with a 6 - 4 lead.

The second half saw Town kick off. A good kick found touch and Town had the scrum inside the Hull half. Good drives saw the Town attack come close and on the 4th tackle Owen Williamson was tackled short of the line. Town continued to attack and on the last Tane Manihera tried to pass out wide but the ball went to ground.

Hull had the ball deep in their own half and started to try and run the ball out. An attempt at a 40/ 20 was launched and the ball bounced deep into the Town in-goal area. Jonathan Heaney had the ball covered and shepherded the ball towards the dead ball line. The Hull winger Gavin Molloy had not given up the chase and pounced onto the bouncing ball to score in the corner. The conversion attempt was missed to keep the scores tied at 6 - 6.

Town tried to fight back and some good interlinking passing between Tane Manihera, William Blackburn, Leigh Smith and Graeme Lewthwaite after 44 minutes down the left wing saw Town inside the Hull half. Graeme Lewthwaite kicked into the centre of the field and the Hull fullback took the ball well under pressure from the Town chase.

Hull were to take the lead on 47 minutes. Good play from Hull saw them inside the Town half. The referee missed a suspected forward pass and Hull had broken the Town line. The Hull fullback Bob Everitt took the final pass and went in under the posts. The successful conversion meant that Town were behind 6 -12.

Carl Sice was despatched from the bench on 49 minutes. Sice was to make an immediate impact with his lively movement. On 50 minutes he created the space and passed out along the line. The ball came to Graeme Lewthwaite and he kicked a grubber kick into the Hull in-goal area. The bouncing ball was kicked into touch by the Hull defence. The dropout was collected deep in his own half by Lynton Stott who he was tackled on halfway.

Handling errors and mistakes from both sides meant that there no further score until the 57th minute. Hull had the possession inside the Town half and on the last tackle they elected to run the ball. The ball was passed along the line and missed tackles by the Town defence created the space for the Hull attack. A kick through was not dealt with and the kicker broke through the line and dribbled the loose ball to the line and scored. The conversion was added and Town trailed 6 - 18.

Town reacted and started to attack the Hull line at every opportunity. A penalty after 60 minutes for a high tackle on Anthony Samuel gave Town possession inside the Hull half. Lynton Stott was tackled short of the line and a knock on from the play of the ball gave the advantage back to Hull.

The arrears were to be reduced after 64 minutes. Town had possession inside the Hull half and the ball was passed from wing to wing. Good handling and passing especially from Carl Sice and Craig Rumney saw Jonathan Heaney collect the ball on the wing and race into the corner to score. Tane Manihera kicked the conversion from the touchline to reduce the Hull lead to 12 - 18.

Good attacking play from Town saw Hull having to defend in-depth. Fata Sini was tackled short of the line after 66 minutes and Hull were forced to drop out from under the posts after a good kick through by Graeme Lewthwaite after 70 minutes.

Fata Sini was held up over the line after 72 minutes and from the resulting scrum Lynton Stott collected the ball and split the line to score. Tane Manihera added the conversion to tie the scores at 18 - 18.

The last minutes of the game were intense. In the 77th minute Town were on the attack inside the Hull half. Owen Williamson put in a high kick and a Town player knocked on the ball. The ball was turned over and Hull tried to run the ball out of their own half. A Hull player lost the ball in the tackle just over their 20 meters line and Town had the possession back. Jamie Beaumont drove for the line and was tackled short. The ball was played and Tane Manihera took the ball and went through the stationary defence to score under the posts. Tane Manihera added the conversion to make the final score 24 - 18 in Town's favour.

Tries: Heaney, Stott, Manihera
Goals: Tane Manihera 6
Town: Lynton Stott, Jonathan Heaney, Neil Frazer, Leigh Smith, Graeme Lewthwaite, Tane Manihera, Craig Rumney, Matt Sturm, Owen Williamson, Lokeni Savelio, Jamie Beaumont, William Blackburn, Anthony Samuel.
Subs: Carl Sice, Matthew Tunstall, Fata Sin and Hitro Okesene
Referee: Mr. R. Laughton