2010 Crusaders Rugby League season

2010 Crusaders Rugby League season
Super League XV Rank	11th
Play-off result	To be decided
Challenge Cup	Fourth round
2010 record	Wins: 3; Draws: 0; Losses: 4
Points scored	For: 122; Against: 193
Team information
Chairman
Head coach	Brian Noble
Captain	Ryan O'Hara
Stadium	Racecourse Ground
< 2009 2011 >

Crusaders Rugby League enter their 5th year of rugby league, their 2nd in professional rugby league, in 2010. Additionally, this will be their first known as Crusaders Rugby League after previously being known as Celtic Crusaders,^[1] and their first year playing away from Brewery Field, Bridgend, moving to Wrexham's Racecourse Ground.^[2] They will be in contention for the Super League, in its 15th season and the 2010 Challenge Cup.

Preseason[]

The preseason saw the Crusaders make a number of changes firstly the Crusaders changed their name from Celtic Crusaders to Crusaders Rugby League^[3] then they got rid of previous coach John Dixon and was replaced by Brian Noble as well as gaining Nobles services Iestyn Harris and Jon Sharp joined as assistant coaches.^[4] The preseason also saw Wales take part in the 2009 European Cup which they ended up winning against Scotland 28–16,^[5] from the Crusaders 2010 Squad Jordan James, Ben Flower, Elliot Kear, Lewis Mills and Lloyd White were all named in the Wales squad.^[6] The Crusaders also confirmed Wrexhams Racecourse Ground as their new home ground for 2010 they originally planned to play at Newports Rodney Parade but unfortunately they couldn't which meant they had to move their South Wales base 200 miles to North Wales. The Crusaders made a number of high-profile signings during the off season with players such as former Great Britain internationals Jamie Thackray and Gareth Raynor joining the club as well as former NRL player Michael Witt returning to the 13-man code after a 1+1⁄2-year stint with the Otago rugby union club.

Table[]

Super League XV v t
Pos.	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Wigan Warriors	27	22	0	5	922	411	+511	44
2	St. Helens	27	20	0	7	946	547	+399	40
3	Warrington Wolves	27	20	0	7	885	488	+397	40
4	Leeds Rhinos	27	17	1	9	725	561	+164	35
5	Huddersfield Giants	27	16	1	10	758	439	+319	33
6	Hull FC	27	16	0	11	569	584	−15	32
7	Hull KR	27	14	1	12	653	632	+21	29
8	Crusaders RL	27	12	0	15	547	732	−185	24
9	Castleford Tigers	27	11	0	16	648	766	−118	22
10	Bradford Bulls	27	9	1	17	528	728	−200	19
11	Wakefield Trinity Wildcats	27	9	0	18	539	741	−202	18
12	Salford City Reds	27	8	0	19	448	857	−409	16
13	Harlequins RL	27	7	0	20	494	838	−344	14
14	Catalans Dragons	27	6	0	21	409	747	−338	12

	Teams qualifying for the Play-offs
	Crusaders

2010 results and fixtures[]

Friendlies[]

Saturday 16 January (Jon Wells Testimonial match)[]

Crusaders vs. Harlequins RL – Cancelled

Challenge Cup[]

Round 4[]

Crusaders 58 York City Knights 8 ^[7]

Round 5[]

Crusaders 34–35 Catalans Dragons

Super League XV[]

For all season results see link below: ^[8]

Round 1[]

Crusaders 6–34 Leeds Rhinos

Preview:This was the first game to kick off Super League XV; the game was played at Crusaders new home ground at Wrexham's Racecourse Ground with the 2009 champions Leeds Rhinos versus the 2009 wooden spooners then known as Celtic Crusaders.

Despite a steady if plucky start due to the snowy weather, Crusaders simply could not sustain the pace and shear ability of the champions. Scott Donald and Gareth Raynor exchanged tries, and the 6-all scoreline remained until the 65th minute when Leeds pulled away(scoring 5 tries in the last 20 minutes) to run out comfortable victors. Although their fitness, team chemistry and ability is questionable, if Crusaders can match every game in Super League XV with the level of commitment shown against the champions, they will prosper with a few wins especially with the defence they showed for the first 65 minutes.

Round 2[]

Wigan Warriors 38–6 Crusaders

Preview: This match will be played at the DW Stadium in Wigan where Brian Noble will come up against the club he previously coached the Wigan Warriors. Former Parramatta Eels second rower Weller Hauraki and former Wests Tigers utility back Rhys Hanbury are expected to arrive in time for the match where they will make their debuts for the Crusaders as they(The Crusaders) still look to build their squad for the 2010 season. Weller Hauraki has been named in the Crusaders 19-man squad however Rhys Hanbury will arrive sometime late February

Team Lineups(19-man squads) Match Official: James Child

Wigan Warriors- Phelps, Roberts, Gleeson, Carmont, Richards, S. Tomkins, Leuluai, Fielden, Riddell, Coley, Hansen, J. Tomkins, O'Loughlin, Prescott, Paleaaesina, Deacon, O'Carroll, Mossop, Goulding.

Crusaders- Youngquest, Mellars, Raynor, Witt, O'Hara, Withers, Bryant, Hauraki, Chan, Trimarchi, Dyer, Lee, Winternstein, Peek, Thackray, James, Flower, White, Lupton.

Match review –

The Crusaders have recorded a second loss to their 2010 Super League season with a 38–6 loss to the Wigan Warriors in front of a 13,680 crowd at the DW Stadium. Wigan tore the Crusaders apart with fullback Cameron Phelps starring in the game, setting up two tries and scoring one of his sides 7 tries. The Crusaders gave a debut to former Parramatta Eels and New Zealand Maori international Weller Hauraki who impressed on his debut. The Crusaders lacked ability to take advantage in the first half with Wigan running out to a scoreline of 20–6 by halftime with Luke Dyer scoring just before the halftime break. It was a similar story in the second half with the Crusaders struggling to get out of their own half of the field, lacking playmaking ability. The Tomkins brother(Sam and Joel) caused trouble for the Crusaders as well as Paul Deacon with his kicking game in the second half.

Round 3[]

Salford City Reds 16 vs 36 Crusaders

Match review-

This was the Crusaders first win of their 2010 Super League Season giving them some momentum for the in-form Hull who have won 2 from 2. The Crusaders tries came from Vince Mellars who scored 3 tries, while Gareth Raynor, Michael Witt, Frank Winterstein and Jamie Thackray also scoring, Michael Witt landed 4 conversions. For the hosts Karl Fitzpatrick, former Crusaders halfback Matty Smith and former Bulldogs NRL players Daniel Holdsworth scored the tries for Salford, while Stefan Ratchford landed 2 conversions.

Round 4[]

Crusaders 18–16 Hull

Preview- This will be the Crusaders second home game of the season against the in-form Hull. Crusaders hooker Tommy Lee returns from an ankle injury where he missed last week's win over Salford, he faces his old club (Hull F.C.|Hull) along with Jamie Thackray and Gareth Raynor while second rower Weller Hauraki makes his home debut and as for Hull Mike Burnett replaces Danny Tickle who suffered a groin injury in last week's win over Huddersfield and coach Richard Agar has Danny Washbrook and Jordan Turner on standby in case Sean Long and Richard Horne fail to recover from leg knocks.^[9]

Match review- The Crusaders won their first home game of the season where the match was won in the last few minutes which is the first time they have won two games in the row since entering super league.

Scorecard Crusaders-

• Tries;Nick Youngquest (2), Michael Witt
• Goals; Michael Witt (3)

Hull-

• Tries;Kirk Yeaman, Tom Briscoe, Lee Radford
• Goals;Craig Fitzgibbon (2)

Round 5[]

Warrington Wolves 46 Crusaders 12

Round 6[]

St Helens R.F.C. 37 Crusaders 30

Round 7[]

Crusaders 14 vs Catalans Dragons 6

Round 8[]

Castleford Tigers 22 Crusaders 16

Round 9[]

Bradford Bulls 20 Crusaders 16

Round 10[]

Crusaders 20 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 10

Round 11[]

Huddersfield Giants 38 Crusaders 10

Round 12[]

Crusaders 19 Bradford 0

Tries: Witt (2), Sammut

Goals: Witt (3/3)

Field Goals: Witt

Round 13[]

Hull KR 54–0 Crusaders

Round 14[]

Crusaders 26 Wigan Warriors 46

Round 15[]

Crusaders 22 Harlequins 50

Round 16[]

Crusaders 44 Bradford Bulls 20

Round 17[]

Crusaders 32 Leeds 26

Round 18[]

Wakefield 41 Crusaders 0

Round 19[]

Warrington 30 Crusaders 10

Round 20[]

Huddersfield 30 Crusaders 12

Round 21[]

Crusaders 26 Catalans 22

Round 22[]

Crusaders 30 Castleford 24

Round 23[]

Crusaders 60 Salford 16

Round 24[]

Crusaders 16 Harlequins 12

Round 25[]

Hull 18 Crusaders 16

Round 26[]

St Helens 36 Crusaders 10

Round 27[]

Crusaders 30 Hull KR 24

2010 squad[]

2010 Crusaders RL season

First team squad								Coaching staff
1 Gareth Thomas – FB, WG 2 Nick Youngquest – WG 3 Tony Martin – CE 4 Vince Mellars – CE 5 Raynor 6 Michael Witt – SO, SH 7 Jarrod Sammut – SH 8 Ryan O'Hara (c) – PR 9 Lincoln Withers – HK, SH 10 Mark Bryant – PR 11 Weller Hauraki – SR 12 Jason Chan – SR 13 Rocky Trimarchi – LF		14 Luke Dyer – CE 15 Tommy Lee – HK 16 Frank Winterstein – SR 17 Adam Peek – PR 18 Jamie Thackray – PR 19 Jordan James – PR 20 Ben Flower – SR 21 Lloyd White – SO 22 Elliot Kear – FB 23 Peter Lupton – SO, LF 24 Anthony Blackwood – WG 25 Lewis Mills – PR 26 Clinton Schifcofske – FB		27 Rhys Hanbury – SH, FB 28 Gil Dudson – PR 29 30 Lee Williams – CE				Head coach Brian Noble Assistant coaches Jon Sharp Iestyn Harris Source:[10] Legend: (c) Captain(s) (vc) Vice captain(s)

2010 Transfers[]

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Gains[]

Acquisitions
Player	Signed from	When signed
Michael Witt	Otago Highlanders	December 2009
Nick Youngquest	Gateshead Thunder	December 2009
Frank Winterstein	Wakefield Trinity Wildcats	December 2009
Tony Martin	Wakefield Trinity Wildcats	December 2009
Vincent Mellars	Auckland Vulcans	January 2010
Tommy Lee	Hull F.C.	November 2009
Jamie Thackray	Hull F.C.	January 2010
Weller Hauraki	Parramatta Eels	January/February 2010
Rhys Hanbury	Wests Tigers	March 2010
Rocky Trimarchi	Wests Tigers	January 2010
Gareth Thomas	Cardiff Blues	March 2010
Clinton Schifcofske	Ulster Rugby	March 2010
Jarrod Sammut	Penrith Panthers	April 2010

Losses[]

Losses
Player	Signed for	When left
Tony Duggan	Lézignan Sangliers	August 2009
Josh Hannay	Mackay Cutters	August 2009
Mark Dalle Cort	Northern Pride	August 2009
Jace Van Dijk	Easts Tigers	August 2009
Darren Mapp	Central Comets	August 2009
Marshall Chalk	Gold Coast Titans	November 2009
Matty Smith	St Helens R.F.C. (loan return)	November 2009
Ste Tyrer	St Helens R.F.C. (loan return)	November 2009
Mark Lennon	Burleigh Bears	November 2009
Damien Quinn	Lézignan Sangliers	August 2009
David Tangata-Toa	Unknown	Unknown
Geraint Davies		December 2009
Ashley Bateman	South Wales Scorpions	January 2010
Chris Beasley	Central Comets	November 2009
Aled James	Unknown	Unknown
Neil Budworth	Mackay Cutters	December 2009
Paul Ballard	Blackpool Panthers	December 2009
Terry Martin	Unknown	Unknown

References[]