NOLA crash to heavy defeat in Seattle

NOLA crashed to a 30-6 defeat against the Seawolves on Sunday to the delight of the Starfire faithful. The Gold could not replicate the energy levels they produced against LA and instead saw their playoff chances take a severe nose dive as the bruising Seattle defense denied them a single try.

Much of the opening quarter was spent in Seattle territory but try as they might the Gold couldn’t crack the ‘seawall’. Instead it was the Seawolves who struck first, with AJ Alatimu landing a penalty goal at his first opportunity for points.

The 3-0 score held until a flurry of points game just before halftime. Alatimu exchanged kicks with Carl Meyer, and then the Seawolves struck for a try. A mistake from NOLA handed over possession and after several phases James Malcolm drove over from close range.

Meyer landed a three-pointer early in the second half but again Seattle responded with a try. It was Malcolm again, peeling around the back of a lineout on a set move to crash in. Alatimu make it a full seven with his second successful conversion.

The boot of JP Smith was controlling territory both in the form of box kicks and penalty touch-finders. After drilling the ball inside the NOLA 22 for an attacking lineout, Smith found a gap on the side of a ruck and sliced through to touch down under the posts.

If another nail was needed it came from Kieran Joyce, who landed a late penalty to rub extra salt in the wounds. There was nothing left in the tank for the Gold as they watched breakaway opportunities fall by the wayside with unforced handling errors.

As a result NOLA now have a mountain to climb next Saturday as they require a bonus-point win of greater than 19 points to make the playoff, while at the same denying New York a try bonus point. The Seawolves have ended seven weeks of frustration and wrap up their campaign at home against Houston on Thursday night.

 

SCORING

SEATTLE 30
Tries – J. Malcolm 2 (40′, 47′), J. Smith (59′)
Cons – A. Alatimu 2/2 (40′, 48′), No kick (59′)
Pens – A. Alatimu 2/2 (22′, 35′), K. Joyce 1/1 (76′)

NOLA 6
Pens – C. Meyer 2/2 (37′, 44′)

 

TEAMS

SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Huluholo Mo’ungaloa (17 Mike Shepherd 54′-78′), 2 James Malcolm (16 Obert Nortjé 73′), 3 Tim Metcher (18 Gavin Prentice 65′), 4 Victor Comptat (19 Conor McGill 70′), 5 Rhyno Herbst, 6 Ben Landry, 7 Naulia Dawai, 8 Samu Manoa (20 Tommy Clark 65′), 9 JP Smith (21 Devereaux Ferris 76′), 10 AJ Alatimu (capt.) (22 Moses Lalasava 65′), 11 Akihito Yamada, 12 Aaron Matthews, 13 Lauina Futi, 14 Sitiveni Tamaivena (23 Karsten Leitner 76′), 15 Kieran Joyce

NOLA GOLD
1 Kevin Sullivan (17 Kavika Peniata 66′), 2 Pat O’Toole (capt.), 3 John Sullivan (18 Brian Nault 48′), 4 William Waguespack (20 Osaiasi Tonga’uiha 60′), 5 Billy Stewart, 6 Malcolm May, 7 Giovanni Lapp (16 Kevin O’Connor 53′), 8 Moni Tonga’uiha, 9 Holden Yungert (22 Damian Stevens 48′), 10 Timothée Guillimin (23 Kyle Rogers 63′), 11 Julián Domínguez (19 James Irey 67′), 12 JP du Plessis, 13 Juan Cappiello, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 15 Carl Meyer (21 Joeli Tikoisuva 63′)

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Mike Lash (New Zealand)
Assistants: Denny Russell (USA) & Ryan Curtis (USA)