Preston Grasshoppers 50 Billingham 15: Seven-try romp for hosts
Another seven-try haul – all in the last 50 minutes – saw free-flowing Preston Grasshoppers take all five points and make it five wins out of seven in National League Two North.
Head coach Dan Orwin said : “That was a massive home win against a side that can cause problems.
“We weathered the storm well in the first 25 minutes, when we were a bit loose and tended to kick the ball away.
“But we kept our discipline and kept turning the screw with a clinical and accurate performance. It was a good defensive effort, but there is still a bit to work on.”
The first quarter produced a pointless stalemate in terms of the scoreboard, until Sam Freeman got things moving with a penalty.
BIllingham spilled the ball with the line at their mercy, but equalised with a kick by Luke Wilson before Hoppers unleashed a siege which brought them a string of penalties and a yellow card for Billingham lock Ollie Telfer.
Home No.8 Tom Ailes was held up over the line but his side raced into a 26-3 half-time lead with tries by lock Ellis Causey, found in space out on the flank, speedy winger Zeph Maher and full-back Freeman, who added two of the conversions.
Maher scored again after the break, following regulation passing from a scrum under the posts, and completed his hat-trick with a clear run in while Billingham were again down to 14 men, hooker Ben Hyndman being next in the sin-bin.
Freeman added both conversions before Billingham got some late reward for their efforts, with tries by Louie Groark and Joe Sysson and one conversion from Wilson.
In between, though, Causey scored his second with a “quarter-back sneak” over the top of a ruck on the line and Hoppers had the last word, another well-crafted attack bringing a try for Josh Ree.
Freeman brought up the 50 points – and a personal haul of 20 – with the second of the conversions. So it was a winning start for ex-Southport flanker Lewis Fusco in an impresssive home debut.
But all 20 squad members played their part and Hoppers have firmly established their credentials as an attacking force with 38 tries in the opening seven games.
With Hull Ionians’ game against Otley being postponed, they moved up to fourth place ahead of next Saturday’s blank date.