Smith signing provides cheer

Jul 1 2002 By Chris Roberts, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

The relief for the Australian prop was clear for all to see as he became the last member of the first-team squad to cross the whitewash.

Darren Turner skipped over for the fifth try of the half three minutes before the break and Steve McNamara added his fourth conversion from five attempts.

But a 28-6 interval advantage was far less than many were predicting.

Notching up those last six points proved the final acts for both men, with White and Grayshon taking their places.

And for White, in particular, his impact could not have been more impressive.

Two solid tackles in the final two minutes of the first half helped settle any nerves.

But it was his opening move on attack which was to prove the most eventful.

That came within a minute of the restart when he collected a ball from a scrum 15 yards from the Gateshead line and scorched over for a stunning debut try, which Langley converted.

Frustration once again set in as Hallas and Grayshon were denied over the tryline and then Robin Peers intercepted a March pass in the Thunder 25 and outpaced the cover to score.

That made it 34-10 after 51 minutes and left the home fans far from happy.