Manchester Swinton Lionesses went through to the National Championship Grand Final with a hard-fought victory over the Warrington Wolves. They will now face London Broncos at home.
The Wolves dominated the opening exchanges. After being awarded a penalty, Beth Hayes went on a run before moving the ball out to Hollie Brussels who was tackled short of the line. Ellie Costello tried to score from dummy half, but she was tackled into touch.
The Lionesses were penalised for offside which allowed the Wolves to put more pressure on the Lionesses line. Emma Dwyer went close to scoring but good defence by the Lionesses kept them out.
An error from the Lionesses allowed the Wolves to apply more pressure on the try line. A penalty for an incorrect play the ball allowed the Lionesses to attack from deep. A 30-metre run by Sammi Simpson allowed the Lionesses to clear their line and get a penalty of their own. From the penalty, Sammi Simpson and Grace Arrowsmith took the ball up before being awarded another penalty for a ball steal.
Yasmin Parton Sotomayor took the ball close to the line from the penalty. The Lionesses were awarded another penalty for a high tackle. Maddie Higson kicked the penalty and her 150th point of the season.
The restart went to Grace Pritchard who took the ball up to the Warrington defensive line before moving the ball out to Tamika Bull who broke through the defence and went on a 60-metre run to score. Maddie Higson converted for a 8-0 lead.
The Wolves went back on the attack. A kick on the last tackle was taken by Amber Harmon who launched the Lionesses next attack. A kick on the last was recovered by Grace Arrowsmith who sent Tamika Bull away on a run to the line.
She was held up over the line on the last tackle, and the ball was handed back to the Wolves.
They moved the ball into the Lionesses’ half where they were awarded a penalty for a late hit. From the penalty, a Shannon Stephens run got them close to the line. The ball was moved out wide but Libby Clarke’s pass to her winger went into touch with an open line.
Another lost ball by the Lionesses was recovered by the Wolves and Shannon Stephens barged her way over to score. Hollie Gregory converted. The Lionesses were then awarded a penalty. A Sammi Simpson run got them to halfway.
The ball was moved across to Kerrie Evans who sent Chloe Newbigging away on a run down the wing but, she was tackled short of the line. Maddie Higson tried to score from dummy half, but she was tackled short. Kerrie Evans went over from dummy half. This time she was held up.
Warrington’s next set ended with a kick which went dead in-goal. Runs by Georgia Briggs and Sammi Simpson got the Lionesses to the halfway line. Emma Welsford took the ball up and a superb offload in the tackle to Abbie Singleton allowed her to move the ball out to Grace Arrowsmith.
The Lionesses were awarded a penalty for a late hit. From the penalty, runs by Leila D’Symonds and Georgia Briggs got the Lionesses close to the Warrington line. The ball was moved out to Sammi Simpson who broke through the Wolves tackling to score. Maddie Higson converted.
The Lionesses had to attack from deep on their next possession. Grace Pritchard went on a run up halfway where she was tackled which flipped up in the air. She landed awkwardly and lost control of the ball. The Wolves went back on the attack with an Ellie Dooney run.
Shannon Stephens went over but was penalised for a double movement. The Lionesses lost the ball from the penalty. The Wolves moved the ball out wide to Teneisha Fairbrother to score in the corner. Shannon Stephens missed the conversion.
Warrington levelled the scores straight from the second-half kick-off. Shannon Stephens went on a 40-metre run before moving the ball across the field to Taneisha Fairbrother who scored in the corner. Hollie Brussels missed the conversion.
The Lionesses retook the lead with good runs by Georgia Briggs and Leila D’Symonds setting up good field position. The ball was moved across to Abbie Singleton whose pass to Kerrie Evans allowed her to run around the outside or the Wolves defence to score. The conversion was missed.
The Lionesses knocked on at the restart. The Wolves moved the ball across to Ellie Dooney but a superb tackle by Sydney Alderman-Smith stopped her in her tracks. They moved the ball into the middle. Yasmin Parton Sotomayor snuffed out that attack. The ball was then moved out to the wing, but Taneisha Fairbrother knocked on.
Warrington’s next attack ended with a knock on. The Lionesses went back on the attack with runs by Eleanor Atherton and Sydney Alderman-Smith whose inside pass allowed Tamika Bull to dummy her way through the Wolves defence to score. Maddie Higson converted.
The Wolves now had a ten-minute spell where they put pressure on the Lionesses line. Superb tackling kept the Wolves at bay.
The Wolves were forced into knocking the ball on. The Lionesses launched their attack with a good run by Emma Welsford. Her short pass sent Eleanor Atherton through a gap. Morgan Pearson went on a weaving 35 metre run from dummy half to score. The conversion was missed.
Warrington lost the ball on their next attack. Emma Welsford went on a run. Her short pass sent Sammi Simpson through a gap. Morgan Pearson went on a run before giving the ball to Sammi Simpson, who was tackled short of the line. Kerrie Evans was then tackled short before the ball was moved across to Tamika Bull. Her kick into the in-goal was too long.
Warrington were then penalised for an incorrect play the ball. The Lionesses went back on the attack with a run by Yasmin Parton Sotomayor. The ball was moved across to Amber Harmon who was tackled short of the line. The ball was then moved back to Maddie Higson who sliced her way through the Wolves defence to score. She was unable to convert her own try.
From the restart, Leila D’Symonds took the ball up. The ball was moved across to Sydney Alderman-Smith who broke through the Wolves defence on a 30-metre run. Her inside pass to Tamika Bull sent her on a 35-metre run to the line to score under the posts. Maddie Higson converted.
From the restart, runs by Leila D’Symonds, Yasmin Parton Sotomayor, Emma Welsford and Sammi Simpson got the Lionesses to within 10 metres of the Wolves try line. Good defence by the Lionesses prevented Warrington from threatening their line in the final few minutes.
Words by Alan Dixon. Photo from MKS Photography.
