Jackals Earn First Win Over Arrows
The Toronto Arrows had a lineout 5m out from the Dallas Jackals’ try line as the clock ticked down. The Jackals were trying desperately to hang on to a narrow 14-11 lead, while the Arrows were trying to break their hearts once again. Ramon Ayarza’s throw found a flatfooted Lucas Rumball and the Arrows began the maul. As the Arrows moved toward the line, captain Jeronimo Gomez Vara got his hands on the ball and the maul was brought down securing the first ever victory in Jackals history.
In Dallas, players, coaches, staff, and fans all celebrated with elation as the MLR’s longest losing streak came to an end. In Toronto, feelings of frustration as the Arrows let another winnable game slip through their fingers.The Jackals received a pair of tries from Sam Golla and Dewald Kotze, while Ross Braude scored the Arrows’ lone try of the match.
Before we dive into things from the Arrows’ point of view, a little shoutout to Canadians Liam Murray and Dewald Kotze who played pivotal rolls in the Jackals first win. Murray had a number of big tackles and was a strong scrummager. Kotze entered the game in the 2nd half and scored a massive try that would prove to be the difference in the game. Kyle Steeves was in the squad, but did not see the pitch.
A big talking point after the match was the Arrows’ decision to kick for the corner and go for the win instead of brining out the tee for Sam Malcolm to level the score. Despite the end result, I completely believe this was the correct decision from the Arrows. In any situation like this, I want the team to go for the win. As former New York Jets coach Herm Edwards famously said “you play to win the game” and that is what the Arrows did. Unfortunately, they were undone by a problem that has plagued this team all year; a lack of execution inside the 22. The Arrows have struggled to score tries this season and the maul was defend well by Dallas all night. However, even with those two facts in mind, I would much rather have a group of players that genuinely believe they could win the game in that situation, than the group who would want to settle for the draw.
Ultimately, this a game that the Arrows could have won. Not just because they couldn’t score on the final play, but because they had plenty of other opportunities throughout the game where they also couldn’t score. The Arrows have only scored 7 tries all season. However, it is not because of a lack of opportunity. This was another game where Ross Braude, Sam Malcolm, and Brenden Black did a great job controlling territory. They won a number of kicking exchanges and were constantly putting the Arrows in the right parts of the park. The problems seem to arise when they get inside the 22. According to the stats shown on the broadcast, the Jackals won 13 turnovers in this match (compared to the Arrows 3). It feels like a lot of those 13 turnovers happened inside the 22. Once again, execution errors were abundant. Botched set pieces, knock ons, turnovers at the breakdown, and everything in between stopped all the Arrows’ attacking opportunities. Unfortunately, it feels like something that is talked about every week and the Arrows seem to be lacking that killer instinct required to finish off tries in this league. If you can’t score tries, winning games becomes incredibly difficult.
There are still some positives from this match. Braude followed up his team of the week performance against Utah with another fantastic outing. As mentioned above, he was critical in the Arrows ability to control the territory in this game. He followed up a short run from Ayarza (also excellent) after a maul and scored the Arrows’ only try of the match. As the Arrows continue to battle the injury bug, a number of new faces have earned their first MLR starts and appearances. Hank Stevenson demonstrated an immense workrate as he was constantly around the breakdown and in support of his teammates. He also made plenty of strong tackles in defence. Brenden Black looked a lot more comfortable and confident in this match. He did well to field a number kicks sent his way and return them with interest. He is the youngest player in MLR and I am looking forward to seeing what he is capable of as he develops more. D’Shawn Bowen had a solid debut as he replaced Avery Oitomen in the 2nd half. He had a number of good kick chases and gained plenty of metres. Dawson Fatoric also had a massive carry late in the 2nd half, in order to ensure that every newly added Arrow made an impact in this game. One of my favourite players to watch this season has been Lolani Faleiva. The Arrows juggernaut prop had a few more stampeding runs in this match and massive tackle on Alejandro Torres.
The Arrows annual season opening road trip has now come to an end. The Arrows will return to York Lions Stadium on Saturday April 8! They will be at home for three games against the New York Ironworkers, New England Free Jacks, and Seattle Seawolves. It will be nice to be at home, but those are three tough opponents.
Despite the 1-5-0 record, the Arrows are only 9 points back of New York for the third playoff spot in the East. It is interesting to realize that the 2nd place NOLA Gold (3-4-0) are actually below .500 as well. Ultimately, this season may be far from over, but the Arrows will need to turn it around quickly. They have always been good at home, hopefully they can use York Lions Stadium to get healthy and return to their winning ways.