THE STRUGGLES continued for North East Worcestershire Ravens as they were beaten 62-4 by visitors Birmingham Bulldogs in Midlands South on Saturday.
After falling behind early on, things got worse for Ravens when centre Lee Knight had to receive first aid after what looked suspiciously like a head-high tackle, but was deemed legal by the referee.
The Bulldogs tackler did sportingly come over to check on the Ravens player who had to leave the field.
Following further tries from the Bulldogs, Josh Harrington also had to leave the field with an injury which occurred just before half-time.
Despite this disruption, the second half started well for Ravens who really took the game to the Bulldogs including going close to scoring points.
The front row players in particular made good progress.
However, the more experienced Bulldogs continued their scoring spree until a smart move by Ravens created a big overlap on the right, allowing debutant Tom Jones to score out wide, although David Wimbury’s attempted conversion went just went wide.
As well as Jones, who has only just turned 16, there were several other Ravens debutants – Dom Hill, Thomas Wilson, Liam Charles and Stu Walker who plays touch every week.
Tom Speed, a former Nottingham rugby league player now working in the Worcester area, has transferred to Ravens and also made his debut.
There is certainly no lack of effort from every single Ravens player and victory cannot be too far away, particularly as the rugby league development work is showing so much promise.
Ravens visit Telford Raiders on Saturday.
Senior training takes place at Hopwood Park on Wednesdays at 7.30pm.
Ravens U14/15s visit Telford Raiders on Sunday for their first experience of league on an astro.
They had a great day and came away with lots of positives and some areas to work on before their next meeting in a few weeks’ time.
Junior training is every Sunday at 10.30am, with mixed touch being played on Mondays at 7.30pm.
Turn up or visit www.newravensrl.co.uk for details.
