Free Jacks Destroy Arrows and Record Book
The Toronto Arrows fell victim to one of the most dominant performances in MLR history last Saturday. The New England Free Jacks scored early and often as they set the MLR record for most points scored, most tries scored, and largest margin of victory. Former Arrow Andrew Quattrin got the ball rolling with a try in the 3rd minute. An absolutely ruthless New England attack saw tries from Mitch Jacobson, John Poland, Taniela Filimone, Paula Balekana, a 2nd from Quattrin, and two penalty tries to give them a 54-0 lead at halftime. They would show no mercy in the 2nd half as as Le Roux Malan scored twice and two more tries would come curtosy of Joe Johnston and Cam Davidowicz. Jayson Potroz would add 8 conversions. Ultimately, the Free Jacks scored 12 tries in this match to win 80-5. The lone bright spot for the Arrows was a great run from Lolani Faleiva set up Noel Reid’s first try as an Arrow, the 12th try of the season for the club.
The Canadians on the Free Jacks certainly came to play. Former Arrows Andrew Quattrin, Cole Keith, Ben LeSage, and Spencer Jones all played vital roles in the record setting performance. Quattrin of course had two tries. Keith helped create a penalty try and otherwise dominated the set piece in this match. LeSage and Jones were key factors in the Free Jacks attack carving up the Arrows defence. One facsinating run of play saw Jones and LeSage chase down a kick and combine for back-to-back charge downs to keep the Arrows deep in the 22. Conor Keys was a factor on the defesive side of the ball and was among the Free Jacks’ leaders in tackles. Isaac Olsen entered the game late in the 2nd half and racked up plenty of metres with ball in hand. Reegan O’Gorman had a solid shift off the bench, as did Foster Dewitt (although he had to leave the game early).
Everything seemed to go wrong for the Arrows in this one. After Quattrin’s opening try, Peter Nelson was handed a yellow card after a contest with Filimone. The crowd certainly didnn’t like it. Regardless, as a result, the Arrows found themselves down 21-0 just 13 minutes. Not only is that a huge lead that early in the game, but it can be a big mental hurdle to overcome.The Arrows had some breif glimpses in this match. Dawson Fatoric looked to have scored his first MLR try, but unfortunately it was called back. This trend of nothing going right would continue for the full 80 minutes. The Arrows looked set on ending the game with something positive. Unfortunately, a knock on ended their attacking threat as the referee’s final whistle blew.
To be honest, I am not really sure what you can do or say after that performance. Perhaps it is best to just burn the game tape and move on. After all, whether you lose 80-5 or 8-0, you earn the same amount of points in the standings.
After the game Lucas Rumball called the Arrows a Jekyll and Hyde team. The club did follow up arguably their best game of the season with the worst outing in franchise history. The big question for the Arrows now will be how do they bounce back? It won’t get any easier as they welcome the Seattle Seawolves to York Lions Stadium on Sunday (even though Seattle is on a two game losing streak). So, will Jekyll or Hyde show up against Seattle?
If there is a positive for the Arrows, it occurred off the pitch. The Arrows are developing a great match day experiance for their fans. The Academy played a match against Quebec earlier in the day and the beer garden was still busy nearly 2 hours after the match. Ultimately, despite the scoreline, the Arrows looks to be growing stronger with each home game.
After the match, we caught up with Free Jack Andrew Quattrin and Arrows’ captain Lucas Rumball. For the first time, we also have photo gallery featuring some of the best pics from the match. All photos are credited to Darrin Bressette.
