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A forgettable 2023 campaign came to a disappointing close for the Toronto Arrows as they lost 26-24 to the NOLA Gold at York Lions Stadium on Saturday night. Both teams have been hit by injuries this season but the Gold salvaged seven victories while the Arrows end with just one.
It was an encouraging start for the Arrows. Peter Nelson slipped through a gap and then found Mitch Richardson on his shoulder. The midfielder stretched away from the cover to score the opening try with just 3 minutes on the clock. Shane O’Leary’s conversion made it seven points to the home side.
The Arrows pressed for another score but a knock-on spoiled one chance and then a forward pass scrubbed out an almost-try for Fabian Goodall. O’Leary settled for three points off the boot to make it a 10-nil game. He would have another crack from long range soon after but didn’t quite have the accuracy.
A rash of injuries hit both teams near the half-hour mark. Eric Howard, in his last game before retirement, was helped off with a knee injury and Malcolm May trudged off alongside him. Jarred Adams was next to go with an HIA, and then Peter Nelson went off holding his ribs. Immediately afterwards O’Leary had another long-range s hot but again the flags stayed down
Will Grant suffered a dislocated shoulder at a ruck just before halftime, replaced by Ross Braude. Before the whistle came the Gold would finally get on the board when Tom Florence barged over from close range, converted by Jordan Trainor.
NOLA came out quickest in the second half. Dougie Fife was wide open on the left side but the pass from JP du Plessis was forward. It was only a temporary reprieve for the Arrows. A penalty conceded an attacking lineout and after attacking the middle, the ball came back wide right where Trainor found Harley Wheeler for an acrobat finish in the corner. Trainor pushed the kick across the face of the posts but the visitors were now in the lead.
Florence grabbed a brace just before the hour mark. The flanker sucked in three defenders with a strong carry and then popped up again to break to line. His day would end soon after with an ankle injury, forcing du Plessis to move to flanker with Jack Webster coming into the midfield.
A dominant Gold scrum set the platform for their fourth try. Alex Lopeti bashed through two Arrows defenders and slid in under the posts for an automatic seven and 26 unanswered points for the visitors. James O’Neill and Liam Bowman would score consolation tries for Toronto in the dying minutes, the latter a 90-meter intercept try with time expired.
Despite picking up the losing bonus point, the result means the Arrows will now finish in last place overall and failed to record a single victory at their home pitch. NOLA will also be disappointed after setting the playoffs as their target, but end the year on a positive note with two wins on the road.
SCORING
TORONTO 24
Tries (3) – M. Richardson (3′), J. O’Neill (74′), L. Bowman (80’+2′)
Cons (3) – S. O’Leary 2/2 (4′, 75′), No kick (80’+2)
Pens (1) – S. O’Leary 1/3 (15′)
NOLA 26
Tries (4) – T. Florence 2 (40’+4′, 57′), H. Wheeler (46′), A. Lopeti (65′)
Cons (4) – J. Trainor 2/3 (40’+5′, 58′), No kick (65′)
TEAMS
TORONTO ARROWS
1 Connor Grindal (17 Ramón Ayarza 52′), 2 Jack McRogers (16 Gene Syminton 66′), 3 Isaac Salmon (18 Conan O’Donnell 66′), 4 Hank Stevenson, 5 Mike Sheppard (capt.) (20 Owain Ruttan 51′), 6 Mason Flesch (19 Matt Fish 58′), 7 James O’Neill, 8 Travis Larsen, 9 Will Grant (21 Ross Braude 40′), 10 Peter Nelson (23 Sam Malcolm 32′), 11 Fabian Goodall (22 Liam Bowman 60′), 12 Mitch Richardson, 13 Tautalatasi Tasi, 14 Kobe Faust, 15 Shane O’Leary
NOLA GOLD
1 Matt Harmon (17 Kevin Sullivan 60′), 2 Eric Howard (16 Pat O’Toole 28′), 3 Jarred Adams (18 Dino Waldren 31′), 4 Cam Dolan (capt.), 5 Malcolm May (19 William Waguespack 28′), 6 Moni Tonga’uiha (20 Alex Lopeti 60′), 7 Tom Florence (22 Jack Webster 63′), 8 Maciu Koroi, 9 Sebastiano Villani, 10 Reece Botha, 11 Dougie Fife, 12 Ross Depperschmidt, 13 JP du Plessis (21 Rory Edwards 78′), 14 Harley Wheeler, 15 Jordan Trainor (23 Kenneth Jinkins 71′)
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Lex Weiner (USA)
Assistants: Stephen Stothers-Robertson (Canada) & Clint Lemkus (Canada)
TMO: Greg Gilliam (USA)
