NY KNIGHTS 2009 AMNRL CHAMPIONS!

Knights Defeat Sharks 58-6 at AMNRL War at the Shore

August 1, 2009


The Knights celebrated the 12th Annual War at the Shore this past weekend with a commanding 58-6 victory over the Buck's County Sharks.  In a game played before several hundred fans, the Knights demonstrated that they were a force to be reckoned with in the last few weeks of the regular season of the 2009 competition.  

While the Knights started off the game very sluggishly,  they were able to quickly able to establish the tone of the game for the rest of the afternoon after Knights second row Ben Sadgrove scored the first of his three tries for the afternoon.  As the game started to open up in the first half, the Knights were able to control the pace of the game, scoring seemingly at will each time the touched the ball.  At the end of the first half thanks to scores from Ryan Coleman, Xaiver Lozinguez, the first of two for Captain Gareth Baxendale,  and a "hat trick" from Luke Hume with three, the Knights went into the sheds with a comfortable 38-6 lead.   

With the start of the second half the Knights found themselves at the receiving end of several Shark offensives which put them deep into the Knights half of the field.  However, due to strong defensive efforts led by Gareth Baxendale, stand-off Chris Ward and props Chris Ward and Mike Cartwright, the Knights held the Sharks scoreless the entire second half!  Adding to the Knights score line that half was Tom Scheinzbach, Gareth Baxendale, and two from Ben Sadgrove. 

At the end of the day, former USA Team Captain Jeff Preston awarded Gareth Baxendale with the Robert Preston Memorial award which is given  to the most outstanding player at the War at the Shore competition each year. "It was an honor to be named the MVP for the tournament." Baxendale said.   "I know that Jeff's father who passed away a few years back loved the game of Rugby League; I feel real lucky to have my father Dave Baxendale here with me today to watch me accept the award!"

The Knights are now heading into the home stretch of the regular season with one more game to go against the second place New Haven Warriors next week in New Haven.