South Wales Jets’ head coach Ben Flower has released his sides for the men’s and U12’s Grand Finals this Saturday at The Lextan Gnoll in Neath.
The two games bookend a whole day’s worth of matches. The U12s play their final against local rivals Aber Valley Wolves at 10am whilst the men go into battle against the Aberavon Fighting Irish at 4pm.
Between that, there are U13, U14 and U16 finals to enjoy, none of which feature the Jets, but the supporters’ bus that leaves in the morning will stay for all games.
Our men have a few players missing due to injuries and enforced unavailabilities but we are still confident that we have a side capable of doing the job.
Craig “Flakey” Lewis captains the side in the absence of Dean Higgs, whilst Wales junior international Henry Parker, who has impressed in three different positions this season, gets to be in a fourth tomorrow as he starts at hooker.
Higgsy, the third top try scorer in the league, will be cheering us on from the stands, but our top two try scorers, and the league’s of course, Marcus Webb and Lewis “Mad Dog” Hughes will start the game.
If Marcus gets a hat-trick, which isn’t out of the ordinary for him, he’s scored in every game this season, he could actually be the top points scorer in the league as well. Cynon Valley Cavaliers’ Bradley Toy currently holds that position with 76 points.
Talking about the event as a whole, Ben Flower said: “We’ve been preparing for this all season. We’ve done well to get this far and faced some tough competition and this is one more game we need to get through.
“I think the performance we put on last Saturday against Cynon Valley Cavaliers in the semi-final was unreal and it just shows what the boys are capable of doing. We won the game 42-10 and they were a tough team so putting on a score like that, I know the boys are going to be ready to face Aberavon in the final on Sunday.”
Both Flower and assistant coach Lloyd White have played at The Lextan Gnoll in the past, for both club and country. Both starred in the first ever rugby league game at the ground back in 2010 where South Wales Scorpions beat Workington Town, and also played for Wales there in a Rugby League World Cup match against the Cook Islands.
“It’s a great place to play at,” Flower adds. “It’s an old-fashioned stadium where the crowd get on top of you. It creates a great atmosphere, I’ve some good memories of playing there and it’s got a good history behind it. I’m looking forward to the day and I’m sure it’ll be a good one at that.”
White kicked the winning points in the 22-20 win over Workington in 2010 and also scored a try in the World Cup match. He also has Grand Final memories himself, being awarded player of the match in the 2007 edition.
He remembers: “It’s pretty much one of the grounds I started my professional career at. When I was with Crusaders in 2010-11, I was going down to The Gnoll and playing for South Wales Scorpions on dual registration. I’ve a lot of good memories there, plus playing for Wales and scoring in a World Cup match there.
“I’m buzzing for Sunday. The competition has been a little bit different since I was at Newport Titans but it’s been really enjoyable. We’ve a great bunch of boys here at the Jets and I’m looking forward to them putting on a good performance on Sunday.”
Ben will be extra proud if both sides win on Sunday as his son Daley Flower is captaining the U12s.
Don’t be late for the buses everyone. We’ve four going to Neath. Let’s make a noise for the boys (and girls)!
