Blackpool Scorpions turned in a display full of effort and commitment as they went down 40 – 16 against Blackbrook in what was an end to end contest
Injuries and unavailability again took their toll on the Scorpions line up with Phil Gamble, Joe Bullock and Lloyd Garrad all returning, whilst young stand off Brett Whitehead made his first appearance of the season.

A tight opening to the game saw the defences of both sides on top, with Danny Barr and Max Rossall leading the way for the home side with some ferocious tackles. After ten scoreless minutes, the visitors were the first to trouble the scoreboard as they took advantage of good field position to crash over for a converted try, with Blackpool suffering a further blow as second rower Rossall was forced off for the remainder of the game with a hip injury.

Scorpions took these setbacks in their stride and came back strongly as powerful runs from front row pair Ryan Fuller and Karl Davies created the platform for Brett Whitehead to produce a teasing grubber kick which was fantastically juggled and grounded by centre Keith Potter. Minutes later Blackpool took the lead as more good work by replacements Gareth Skelton and Lloyd Wood created the space for Whitehead to produce an excellent flat pass which sent Phil Gamble scything through to score in the corner and give the hosts an 8 – 6 lead.

Unfortunately this was to be the only time that the home side held lead as some poor tackling and handling errors saw Blackbrook cross for back to back tries and establish a 14 – 8 advantage. Scorpions again came roaring back and cut the deficit between the teams to only two points as a great run and offload by loose forward Phil Mitchell sent Gamble diving over for his second try of the afternoon. Regrettably another defensive slip by the hosts in the final few minute of the half allowed the St .Helens side to cross once more and stretch their half time lead to 18 – 12.

The second period began in much the same vein as the first with some solid defending from both sides resulting in few clean cut chances with Liam Wilkinson, Lloyd Garrad and Joe Bullock leading by example with some thundering tackles. After nearly twenty minutes the second half deadlock was broken as Scorpions fullback Antony Clark pounced on a loose ball and embarked on a lung busting 80m run downfield to score a fantastic solo try and cut the margin between the teams to only two points.

With the game hanging in the balance, Blackpool went all out to grab an all important win with Luke Valente and Scot Marsden both coming close to crossing only to be denied by some last ditch defending from the visitors. Unfortunately the hard work and effort exerted by the home side took its toll in the final ten minutes as fatigue set in allowing the visitors to cross for four tries to give the final score a rather lop sided look at 16 – 40.

Despite this defeat, Blackpool could be proud of their overall performance with every player giving 100% in this hard fought game. Any player from 1 to 17 could have taken the man of the match award for Scorpions, but in the end the honours fittingly went to stand off Brett Whitehead who was a constant threat in attack, creating two tries for his team, whilst also leading the way with some great tackling to deny the visitors on more than one occasion.

Team: Antony Clark, Joe Bullock, Keith Potter, Phil Gamble, Danny Barr, Brett Whitehead, Liam Wilkinson, Karl Davies, Scott Marsden, Ryan Fuller, Max Rossall, Luke Valente, Phil Mitchell

Subs: Lloyd Garrad, James Cunliffe, Lloyd Wood, Gareth Skelton

Tries: Phil Gamble (2), Antony Clark, Keith Potter

Goals: Bullock 0/2, Valente 0/2