By Canadian Press

Toronto Wolfpack thump Swinton Lions in return home after 11 games abroad

Apr 26, 2019 | 7:30 AM

TORONTO — Blake Walllace scored 24 points as the Toronto Wolfpack celebrated their return home with a 52-10 win over the Swinton Lions in Betfred Championship rugby league play Sunday.

The announced crowd of 9,562 at Lamport Stadium was a record in the second-tier Championship game, surpassing the 9,181 for a 2015 game between Bradford and Leigh, according to the Wolfpack.

It was the Wolfpack’s first game in Toronto since Oct. 7 when they lost 4-2 to London Broncos in the Million Pound Game with promotion to the Super League on the line. The Wolfpack, who lead the standings at 11-1-0, had played their first stretch of the season across the Atlantic.

Saturday also marked the first game in Canada for coach Brian McDermott, who took over from Paul Rowley after last season.

It was Toronto’s sixth straight win since a 46-16 loss March 9 at Toulouse Olympique, the lone blemish on the Wolfpack schedule.

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Wallace had two tries and kicked seven conversions and a penalty. Gareth O’Brien, Bodene Thompson, Andy Ackers, Andrew Dixon, Rickey Leutele, Tom Olbison and Adam Higson also scored tries for Toronto, which led 24-6 at the half.

Matty Ashton and Mike Butt scored for Swinton (2-10-0). Harry Smith kicked a conversion.

Toronto had won the two previous meetings between the two, 62-14 and 42-12, both in 2018.

Swinton, which had lost their first seven games of the season, arrived in 11th place in the Championship.

An early Nick Rawsthorne try for Toronto was called back for a forward pass but O’Brien finished off an attack in the corner in the sixth minute for a 4-0 lead.

Wallace then danced through several defenders to score in the 11th.

Swinton answered in the 23rd minute when Gavin Bennion intercepted a pass near his own goal-line and raced down the field, finding Ashton open as defenders caught up with him. The conversion cut the lead to 10-6.

Tries by Thompson and Ackers in the 34th and 38th minutes and a Wallace penalty increased Toronto’s lead to 24-6. The penalty came after Wallace was floored by a Bennion tackle ruled to be a shoulder charge. The Swinton player was sin-binned for the infraction.

Dixon kept the scoreboard turning in the 46th minute with a powerful run to the try-line. Tries by Leutele (50th), Olbison (53rd), Wallace (64th) and Higson (68th) followed.

Swinton finally answered in the 73rd minute with a try by Butt.

The game marked the 150th of Australian forward Darcy Lussick’s career (30 with Toronto, 65 for the Manly Sea Eagles, 53 for the Parramatta Eels and two for NSW City).

The Wolfpack were without winger Matty Russell, the Championship’s leading try-scorer, due to a shoulder injury. 

After Sunday, the Wolfpack have 15 games remaining with nine more at Lamport. Three earlier home games were staged at neutral sites — Newcastle, Hull and London — because of the Toronto winter and Lamport’s unavailability.

Toronto started in the third tier in 2017, battering part-time opposition in League 1 to move up to the Championship. The Wolfpack won that as well last season but fell just short in the Super League promotion playoffs.

The Swinton rugby club dates back to 1866 when members of the Swinton Cricket Club looked to play another sport in the winter. Its first official game was in November 1871.

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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press