The Destroyers Dominate!

Fresh off the back of the previous week’s triumphant victory over Kilburn, Seb Money’s Destroyers made the short trip to Barnes on Saturday and came away with a hard-fought 27–24 win — equal parts sharp rugby and sheer bloody-mindedness.

The first twenty was all Hammers. The backs clicked from the off, moving it quickly and actually looking organised for once. Jordan Brown crashed over under the posts for the opener after a few tidy phases up front, before Jules Storey ran in a couple more — classic support play off some slick hands in the backs. It was proper rugby for a spell. The only downside was Jordan Opie’s boot off the tee: one conversion charged down; another scuffed from close range. Still, the scoreboard looked good and Hammers were in control.

Then Barnes started leaning on their two enforcers in the back row — each roughly the size of a transit van and twice as mean — and for ten minutes it looked like a live-action crash test. Every carry was a collision, blokes getting folded, bodies everywhere. They managed a couple of scrappy breakaway tries to keep themselves in it, more through chaos than structure, but the Destroyers hit back before the break with a tidy finish from Nathan Woolley in the corner. Somehow, Hammers absorbed the pressure, stuck to their shape, and went in deservedly on top.

The second half turned into something straight out of a pub car park. Nathan Smith took a cheap shot and made sure the bloke knew about it — bit of push, bit of shove, one high tackle later and he was sat in the bin wondering how he was the only one punished. A few minutes later, Theo West chopped one of their big lads from behind off a quick tap — about fifteen metres offside — and joined him. Down to thirteen.

Barnes fancied themselves at that point, and things started getting spicy. Their skipper got mouthy, Jordan Brown took exception, and promptly bitch-slapped him across the chops — the sort of thing that doesn’t show up on the stats sheet but really sets the tone. To his credit, he channelled the energy the right way soon after, beating a couple of defenders and crashing over in the corner for his second of the day, swinging the momentum back Hammers’ way. After the earlier kicking chaos in the first half, Cameron Roberts took over the tee duties but didn’t fare any better.

Hammers dug in. Barnes threw everything at the line, but the Destroyers scrambled, tackled, and somehow saw it out. A proper gutsy win from a side that refused to fold. Jules Storey took a well-deserved Man of the Match — two tries, sharp all game, and a constant threat with ball in hand. With both binned lads disappearing early, Jordan Opie picked up Dick of the Day honours for his work off the tee.

Seb Money, ever stoic at the helm, marshalled his legion of men to yet another victory — quietly reinforcing his status as the club’s most successful captain so far this season, maintaining his 100% win record. Honourable mentions also to debutants Theo West, Scott Ewen, Abdi Aden and Dan Hogg, who all slotted in seamlessly and made immediate impacts on and off the field.