Spirited second half fightback not quite enough for Chorley Panthers Under-18s

A game of contrasting halves saw Chorley Panthers Under-18s lose a tight game to Hindley 32-26.
Fin Parry on the ballFin Parry on the ball
Fin Parry on the ball

The Panthers went into this cup game with a high degree of confidence, but it was a case of not doing the basics right in the first half.

A half which saw the Panthers only complete two of their sets with stupid errors taking place throughout the first 30 minutes.

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With Sam Firth crossing for the Panthers only try they were lucky to be only 18-4 behind at the half time whistle.

Josh Miller throwing a dummyJosh Miller throwing a dummy
Josh Miller throwing a dummy

The second half was a completely different story with the fight back beginning with stand off Alfie Bowers leading from the front with some powerful carries and rewarded with a well-taken try.

As the Panthers eradicated the errors they began to play some first class rugby. Tries from Morris, Rourke and Fairhurst saw them pull back in to contention and with only three minutes on the clock, the scores were tied at 26 each.

The Panthers looked favourites for the win but unfortunately luck was against them and Hindley crossed with the final play of the game to take the win 32-26.

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Opposition man of the match was a close call between Alfie Bowers and Josh Rourke with Alfie just edging it with his dominant runs.

Josh Miller throwing a dummyJosh Miller throwing a dummy
Josh Miller throwing a dummy

The Under-15s were beaten 30-12 by Woolston despite getting off to a flying start when the outstanding Adam Lister squeezed over for the opening try.

The hosts continued to dominate for the next 15 minutes with forwards James Gregson and Oliver Downton-Bent leading the charge but they simply could not convert pressure into points and it was the visitors who turned the game with a couple of tries.

Chorley were still in there when winger Jared Harrison got on the end of a Lister cross-field kick but some expensive defensive lapses let in more Woolston tries and the game was effectively over.

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Despite there being too much ground to make up, the Panthers lads dug deep and finished the stronger side and scored the try of the match when Joe Moon fired out a brilliant last ditch pass to put Joseph Clark in at the corner.

Chorley Panthers Under9s ran in 14 tries in a overwhelming victory over Accrignton Wildcats, who managed just one try.

The Panthers were running hard lines in attack and showing off some sublime handling to score some wonderful tries.

Solid defence from the likes of Jacob Fisher, Jayden Jones, Cameron Fitzgerald, Laiton Swarbrick, Oliver Slater and Hodson again won the game with the hosts conceding just one try in a full 40 minutes.

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The Under-8s scored 10 tries compared to visitors Pilkington Recs’ six.

The Panthers rapidly turned up the heat after the guests were first over for a try.

Both teams continued to attack well but it was Chorley’s Robert Breakwell – star of the match – was rewarded with a try after running straight through the Pilkington defence.

The second half saw Panthers take full control of the match conceding just two tries but securing six following some superb runs from all players.

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Josh Whelan narrowly missed out when his full-length effort was called short but ultimately put Ethan Holmes over the line for one of his two tries.

Billy Gaynor bagged the final try of the game after George Willis took his team the full length of the pitch in the last set.

The try scorers were Holmes (2) Lewis-Guinness (2) Breakwell, Collins, Ryan, Vaughan, Hartley and Gaynor.

Most improved player award went to Billy Gaynor. Star player was Robert Breakwell and opposition’s star of the match was Isaac Collins.