Trophy time for Panthers' aces

Chorley Panthers Under-14s secured the Division One league leaders' trophy against Burtonwood '“ but not without a few nervous moments in a 20-20 draw.
Action from the 20-20 drawAction from the 20-20 draw
Action from the 20-20 draw

Needing at least a point to secure top spot, Panthers started strongly and went into a 12-0 lead, with the opening score from Tommy Carr and then an individual effort from scrum-half Joe Sumner, who dummied the defence from 30 metres out, then threw a second outragous dummy to the full-back and went over.

Burtonwood came back, as they pounced on a loose ball on the last tackle, right on the stroke of half-time to narrow the deficit. Burtonwood had the wind behind them in the second half and took full advantage to go over to level within the first two minutes.

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But with 10 minutes to go, stand-in hooker Jack Kirk spotted a gap from half-back to restore the lead, with Tom Williams converting.

Burtonwood scored a try out wide to narrow the gap, followed by a touchline conversion to bring the score all square.

One point was enough to secure the title, but Panthers wanted two, so when a penalty was awarded, Williams put them back in the lead. In a manic last few minutes, possession changed hands on numerous occasions, Charlie Mitchinson striking a perfect drop-out at one stage to retain possession.

A penalty was awarded when Panthers had possession, and from 40 metres, Burtonwood levelled the scores.

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With only seconds left, the Bulldogs went for the victory but outstanding defence from Jack Kirk and full-back Kian Langton forced them over the sidelines and the final whistle sparked Panthers’ celebrations, as they go into the middle eights as league winners.

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