Your Newcastle Blackhawks are the top seed in the inaugural CFL competition going into Finals Weekend, after a 3-1 performance in Yorkshire.
Newcastle travelled south and added three more wins to their tally, defeating the Derbyshire Ducks, Leeds Samurai women’s side and the Calderdale Locomotives. But a last second loss in their final game against the Manchester Ravens meant that they wouldn’t be heading into the last tournament with a 100% record.
Here’s how it panned out:
Game photos supplied by CFL
CFL tournaments can be a nice change of pace, as they allow teams to play each other who wouldn’t normally meet in BAFA games.
The Blackhawks opened their day with a faceoff against the Derbyshire Ducks, who boasted some shifty passing threats and were genuinely fun to play against.
After a sluggish start, the Hawks opened the scoring when John Hill hauled in a pass at the back of the endzone. The game also featured a touchdown by Teesside Steelers star Amie Walker, a pick six from Taylor Walton, and an interception by James Turvill.
Newcastle continued their run of wins against the Samurai women’s side, and it was The Adam Newton Show on offense.
The speedy and sure-handed receiver hauled in some excellent long passes, and was a general nightmare to play against throughout the day. Liam Messenger and Taylor Walton popped up with picks, and Blackhawks stalwart and recent “Team Award Winner” Kieran Walton popped up with an athletic play of his own, demonstrating cat-like tackling reflexes to prevent a Pick Six…by his own team-mate.
Ouch.
The Blackhawks train kept on rolling with a third win of the day against division rivals.
Taylor Walton was on fire against the Calderdale Locomotives, picking up a rushing, receiving and defensive touchdown – all in one game. James Turvill and Robert Knox also grabbed interceptions as Newcastle eased away with this one.
The Locomotives did manage to get on the scoreboard late, hauling in an excellent long-distance touchdown as the receiver showed real fight to claim the ball and haul it over the goalline.
The Blackhawks made a decent start in this clash against the Manchester Ravens. But it was the final seconds that eventually did them in.
At one point, Newcastle were up by a touchdown, with Amie Walker snagging a second TD of the day on a short out route. But the Ravens came back, and were tied at 12 with time ticking away.
On a controversial drive that saw the ref brandish the dreaded “sin bin blue card”, the Ravens punched it in on the very last play. This consigned the Hawks to their first ever CFL loss, and took the shine off the journey home.
However, with Jack Marshall and Henry Bulmer doing excellent work at QB, and great shifts from Ian Mungwadzi, Jack Mulholland, Amie Walker, Adam Newton, James Turvill, Taylor Walton and more, the Blackhawks looked like a real threat all day.
Onto the next one.
NEXT UP:
It’s CFL Finals Day next, with the Blackhawks facing off against the other top seeds in the competition in Bradford on July 6.