Wolfpack remain undefeated in League 1 with tough 40-22 win over Newcastle

NEWCASTLE, England — The Toronto Wolfpack remained undefeated in their inaugural rugby league season after coming away with a 40-22 road win over the Newcastle Thunder on Friday.

The Wolfpack improved to 7-0, good for a tie for top spot in the Kingstone Press League 1 standings, but were given a robust challenge from the Thunder. Toronto led 28-4 at halftime, but the Thunder made a game of it by outscoring the Wolfpack 18-12 a spirited second-half performance.

Toronto had outscored its opponents 372-49 over its first six games of the season and was coming off a 62-12 win over Oxford RLFC last Saturday in its home opener at Toronto’s Lamport Stadium.

Perhaps the flight back to England took a toll on the Wolfpack, who clearly looked fatigued in the second half. Toronto is rugby league’s first transatlantic team, and Friday’s game was an early logistical stress test of the experiment. The Wolfpack played their first five league games as well as their Ladbrokes Challenge Cup matches in England.

Ryan Brierley scored a pair of tries for Toronto, with Blake Wallace, Jonny Pownall, Liam Kay, Quentin Laulu-Togaga’e and Bob Beswick also touching down. Craig Hall booted six conversions.

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Zach Clark, Danny Nickals, Lewis Young and Evan Simons had tried for Newcastle, with two conversions from Benn Hardcastle and one from Matt Barron.

The Wolfpack will face their toughest test of the season this far next weekend when they return to Toronto to face the Barrow Raiders, who are also boast a 7-0 record.

The Canadian Press