Waterhead on a roll

WATERHEAD under-17s made it two wins from as many games by defeating Leyland Warriors 52-16 at home.

Try scorers on the day were Michael Tattersall (two), man-of-the-match Sam Wilson (two), Jordan Hanley (three), Niall Dunnington-Wallace and Luc Kinder, who also kicked eight conversions.

Newton Storm were unable to weather heavy pressure from Waterhead’s under-11s, who won 52-16 away from home.

Waterhead, who had a strong attacking game and defended well on their own line, passed the ball well throughout and scored their best try when a good team move ended with Joe Hibbert crossing in the corner for his fourth of the game.

Other try scorers for Waterhead were Declan Slicker (three), Harry Maders (two) and Liam Aspin, while Ross Crawford was man-of-the-match.

Depleted Waterhead under-10s travelled to Orrell St James with only nine players on board — but still came out on top against a side boasting 11 men, winning a hard-fought game 30-6.

OLDHAM St Anne’s under-16s eased to a 34-0 win at Blackbrook, though it was a game marred by errors and the scoreline flattered the visitors.

With both sides down on numbers, an early Ryan Powell try was converted by Martyn Swaine and Jarrod Ward’s effort made the half-time score 10-0.

Tries after the break followed for Ryan Bradbury and Nick Ryan, plus one more each for Powell and Ward, with successful conversions arriving from Nathan Shaw-Langhorn, Swaine and Powell.

A stirring comeback couldn’t stave off defeat for St Anne’s under-11s, who went 24-16 at home to Atherton Dragons.

Anthony Wooley opened the scoring for Saints, reacting first to a kick to the in-goal, before the visitors responded with two converted tries for a 12-4 interval advantage.

Two more converted tries left Saints facing a mountain to climb at 24-4 down.

A strong fightback ensued and Owen Baldwin’s brace of tries, one converted by himself and the other by Alex France, ensured an exciting finish. Callum Travis was boy-of-the-match for St Anne’s.

HIGGINSHAW Eagles under-15s lost 24-12 away at Bold Miners, mainly as a result of second-half errors.

In an evenly contested first half, Bradley Turner scored two tries for the Eagles either side of two for the home side.

Mistakes then allowed Bold to build a 10-point lead and though Elliot White pulled one back for Higgy, the home team scored with the last kick of the match to make the points safe.

Ryan Maylor was Higginshaw’s man-of-the-match while debutant Dominic Bryan was voted top tackler.