Scunthorpe 28 Grimsby 31
Grimsby 3rds clung on for a 31-28 victory at Scunthorpe, narrowly avoiding throwing away a commanding lead. The Blues raced to half-time 26-0 ahead, but were then almost put to the sword in the shade of the Corus steelworks. A combination of injuries, lightweight defence and poor refereeing gifted the hosts a route back into a game in which they looked lost in a cul-de-sac. But the Blues hung on to the Merit League points in the hotly-contested derby.
The Blues' wind advantage in the first period aided an early territorial assault. And a smart kicking game helped them build a solid platform for control. Full-back Ricky Robinson, pictured, fielded a high ball, twisted and turned his way past two defenders before dinking the ball into space. Chasing down the kick, Robinson was first to the loose ball to register the game's first score. The points caught the Blues by surprise, but galvanised the pack into action. And none more so than flanker Dave Waudby, who crossed soon after, following a bullocking run by prop Nathan Turner. Waudby doubled his tally minutes later, taking a pop from hooker Greg Robson following a line-out to stretch the score-line. Strong defence from centres Scott Chambers and Nathan Price-Saleh kept the Blues in control. And captain Chambers crashed over from a tap penalty to add to the ascendency.
After the turn-around, lock Jamie Bowen's score continued the earlier trend. After good work down the left, Bowen popped up for the inside ball, and found the strength to skip home for five points. But then the momentum swung. First, Price-Saleh pulled a calf muscle and limped off. Then Chambers stayed down after a tackle with a sore shoulder. With the centre pairing off, and prop Turner bowing out at half-time, the decimated Blues battled on. The hosts crossed for a controversial score minutes later. As two men ran blocker for Scunthorpe's no 12, the referee was content to let the crossing go. Seven points were added for Scunbthorpe and the floodgates opened. Winger Nick Dale's protests not only fell on deaf ears, but pushed the referee to award Scunthorpe a penalty on half-way at the re-start for back-chat. The pendulum was now really ticking to the Scunthorpe beat. Poor territorial play and naive ball retention let the hosts well and truly back in the game. Three more soft tries were too little, too late - but only just. Fly-half Darren Spreadbury's three out of five conversions proved crucial at the death. Grimsby walked away with the points, but with flushed faces for the light second-half showing.