The Hawks arrived in Bradford with the #1 seed, and many reasons to be confident. But it wasn’t to be.
A slow start in their first match against the wildcard Leeds Samurai saw them drop out at the semi final stage, and they lost out in the plate final by a single point against the Border City Centurions. But several players showed excellent promise, and look set to make a mark in a Hawks shirt in future.
Here’s how it panned out:
The Blackhawks had only lost one game in CFL play going into this tournament. But records count for nothing when you get to the knockout stages.
A sluggish start saw the Samurai open up a two score gap which proved too much for the Hawks to overcome. Leeds were able to move the ball confidently, and Newcastle didn’t respond until it was too late. The team didn’t find its rhythm until the closing stages, launching two strikes into the endzone and rounding things off with an untimed three-point bomb from Henry Bulmer to Ian Mungwadzi as the clock hit zero.
But it wasn’t enough. The “revenge final” that the Blackhawks wanted against the Manchester Cuervos wasn’t going to happen after all, and the Hawks dropped into the plate competition at the first hurdle.
After their disappointing exit from the main bracket, the Hawks had a bit of time to lick their wounds. In the meantime, the Cuervos secured the big trophy, beating the Leeds Samurai in the final.
The squad needed to re-group, and show the confidence and quality that won them so many games in previous tournaments. And they needed to start here, against the Calderdale Locomotives. Newcastle had beaten Calderdale earlier in the season, but the Locomotives took them all the way this time.
With the teams trading touchdowns, Newcastle found themselves trailing 19-17 late in the game. Could they lose two on the trot?
As it happens, the Blackhawks kept calm, dug deep and got the ball in the endzone. They even added a two-pointer, with QB Henry Bulmer massively padding his Fitbit steps on a long clock-killing scramble before connecting for the strike. However, there was one last spike to the blood pressure for the Hawks, as Calderdale heaved the ball downfield looking to level things up. They completed the pass no more than ten yards from the endzone, but run out of time to get another play off.
So the Blackhawks would contest the plate final, against a familiar opponent.
It wasn’t the trophy they’d ideally have liked to have been shooting for. But it was better than nothing.
The Blackhawks stood on the verge of claiming something from their exploits in the CFL this year. But they had one more game to play.
The Border City Centurions have been on the other side of the line of scrimmage from Newcastle many times this year, in both Winter League and CFL. Both teams were keen to wrap up the tournament on a positive note, and maybe get some bragging rights to go with it.
It was Newcastle that started off strongest, going two touchdowns up. Adam Newton was again a deep scoring threat, and Ian Mungwadzi grabbed several tricky catches over the middle. Ben Godbehere also showed some strong hands to claw in an extra point in tight coverage. But the Centurions showed excellent heart to claw themselves back in the game.
The Blackhawks had a great chance to extend their lead following a long interception from Liam Messenger, who’d popped up with a pick six earlier in the tournament. But they couldn’t get it over the line, and the Centurions took the lead on a QB run soon after. A late rally from the Blackhawks fell short, and the team finished up their season with a loss in the plate final.
While it’s all too easy to get disappointed on days like these, it’s also important to look at how far you’ve come. This Blackhawks CFL team didn’t get their name on a trophy, but they made their mark in this competition’s inaugural year. The insanely elusive Jack Mulholland hoovered up MVPs over the last few months, and Taylor Walton was a smart and athletic presence on the field. Adam Newton is a real receiving threat for the future. Chris Stanworth emerged as one of the team’s defensive leaders, and Liam Messenger popped up with several picks, including some for scores. Ben Godbehere and Kieran Walton continued to grow in confidence with more gametime. We’ve seen several first year Blackhawks establish themselves as ones for the future, including James Turvill, Rob Knox, and Ian Mungwadzi. Players such as Jack Marshall, Henry Bulmer and Amie Walker brought their valuable footballing experience and quality to the mix.
The Blackhawks squad is growing, and the future is bright.
We can’t finish this one off without saying a huge thankyou to everyone involved in setting up, organising and refereeing the CFL games this year. It’s been an absolutely vital training ground for us to develop our squad and give people gametime. Oh, and it’s been excellent fun too.
NEXT UP:
The CFL campaign may be over, but the Blackhawks still have important BAFA games to play. It’s cross-conference weekend on Saturday as they aim to strengthen their grip on the division with games agains the Roosters and Longhorns.