Toronto Wolfpack earn promotion to Super League with victory over Featherstone

The Toronto Wolfpack completed their dream season, defeating Featherstone Rovers 24-6 in the Grand Final to earn a promotion to the top-flight Super League.

It appeared history would repeat itself again, after the Wolfpack failed to break through a resolute Featherstone defence in a cagey first half. Featherstone opened the scoring in the 28th minute after Toronto’s Liam Kay fumbled in deep territory, allowing Alex Sutcliffe to pounce on the loose ball for the game’s first try. Dane Chisholm converted to take an early 6-0 lead, and Toronto’s usually raucous Lamport Stadium was silenced.

Josh McCrone put the Wolfpack on the board, capitalizing on a bruising run from teammate Gadwin Springer in the 32nd minute, but Gareth O’Brien couldn’t convert and Featherstone entered halftime with a 6-4 lead.

Toronto’s Blake Wallace cut through the middle of Featherstone’s defence for a 57th-minute try, giving his club its first lead of the game and O’Brien easily converted for a 10-6 advantage. Bodene Thompson emerged for another try in the 62nd minute, as the Wolfpack pulled away, while O’Brien converted again.

Joe Mellor scored on a fantastic individual effort in the 72nd minute and the Wolfpack cruised from there onward, holding an insurmountable 22-6 lead. Wallace added a two-point penalty in the 79th minute to punctuate the victory.

A record 9,974 were in attendance for the Wolfpack’s coronation, rallying the team in the second half. At the 78th minute mark, the Lamport Stadium crowd gave the Wolfpack a standing ovation, breaking into a “Super League” chant. It’s a well-deserved honour for a team that posted a remarkable 28-1 record.

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