Winning start for Wolf Hunt as they beat champions Telford Raiders in opener

In what was expected to be a tough battle, it was a game that didn’t disappoint.

With lots of scores and drama, it was certainly one for the fans and neutrals to enjoy.

Telford got the game off to the worst possible start.

Kicking the ball out on the full straight from the kick-off instantly gave Wolf Hunt field advantage at the halfway line.

From then on it got worse for the defending champions.

Quick play and fast passing saw the ball landed in the hands of Stacey Barker who had almost an open 10m in front of him to open his and Sherwood’s account for the season.

Wolf Hunt raced into an 18-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game with tries from Brayton Taylor and winger Matt Cahill.

The second was made possible by the silky hands of Stacey Barker passing the ball out the back of his hands without even a glance to his teammate.

Sherwood’s kicker John-Ross Ward made it three from three on the conversions.

It took 24 minutes for Telford to get their name on the board, all be it in controversial circumstances.

What looked to be a forward pass wasn’t given by the referee and a well timed off-load after a tackle helped the Raiders score a try.

With the referee not liking the protests he could hear from the Wolf Hunt camp, head coach Glenn Holt was sent to the stands for his protests to the try.

Wolf Hunt would now have to see out the rest of the game without their head coach.

The Raiders were on the ascendancy, adding another try soon after scoring the first – a 70m dash, dodging two defenders and outpacing three more on the chase.

Sherwood re-established their advantage with a try from veteran player Pete Alldread, stretching out after the tackle to put the ball on the line.

They then went even further in front with Max Hayes scoring with his first touch of the ball.

A well-timed pass from Cam Stewart to prop forward Ben Lee left him acres of space and behind the defensive line, and a neat pass to Max was enough for him to get beyond the on rushing full-back.

With just a couple minutes of the half to go Telford closed the gap on the scoreboard, once again coming with controversy.

The ball appeared to be lost after the tackle, but the referee signalling the ball went backwards left the Raiders player a simple pick up and score.

Sherwood found themselves down to 12 men after this with Ben Lee protesting the call from the referee, resulting in a yellow card and 10 minutes in the bin.

Into the second half and Telford made a better start to this one.

Working their way downfield, they won the ball back from a scrum and battered their way across the try line.

They went on with their momentum to score another one, this time working the ball from right to left.

With some well timed off-loads a man in the Primrose and Blue managed to get over the whitewash.

With the conversion going over Telford found themselves with a narrow lead for the first time in the game.

Just before the hour mark it was Telford who found themselves a man light.

It was their captain who was sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes for running in after a late tackle.

Once the dust had settled the game continued with Sherwood looking to hurt the Raiders on the scoreboard.

From the resulting play the ball, a quick-thinking Oliver Summerland intercepted a pass and ran 45m upfield before being tackled to put Wolf Hunt firmly back on the front foot.

Telford found themselves down to 11 men shortly after, the referee clearly not liking his authority being challenged, another man being sent for a 10-minute sit down for protesting a call.

From the resulting penalty Wolf Hunt powered their way over the line.

Working from right to left and back again, it was Mike Allen who got his name down on the scoresheet this time.

Sherwood again extended their lead, this time through their big front rower Oliver Avison.

A solid run down the left wing from Caius Tweed put Wolf Hunt right where they needed to be.

With the ball findings its way to Avison on the 35m line, he muscled his way through five defenders to find the in-goal area. The extras added from John-Ross Ward, Sherwood were back in control.

There was just enough time for one last moment of brilliance.

Sherwood moved the ball up the field and, on the fifth and last tackle John-Ross Ward dinked the ball over the defensive line.

A good bounce meant the ball landed straight into the arms of the on rushing Allen to go in and score his second try of the game.

Loxley’s self-storage Man of the Match award went to front rower Oliver Avison for a solid display in attack and defence.

Wolf Hunt will next be in action against Swindon St. George on 1st June at Debdale Park.

But before that, Wolf Hunt’s academy side will be looking to get their season off to a winning start when they travel down to new side Deeping Ducks in the Merit League on Saturday.