HALTON FARNWORTH HORNETS arlfc.......here to promote sport & serve the local community.

Return to index

Archived Match Reports U14's [an To Mar 2007]

07 Jan 07, Saddleworth Rangers v's Halton F H

14 Jan 07, Ryland Sharks v's Halton F H

21 Jan 07, Halton F H v's Kells [National Cup Round Two]

28 Feb 07, SRL Championship Games

04 Feb 07, Oldham St Anne's v's Halton F H

11 Feb 07, Wibsey Juniors (Bradford) v's Halton F H

18 Feb 07, Wibsey Juniors (Bradford) v's Halton F H

25 Feb 07, Pilkington Recs v's Halton F H

04 Mar 07, Hindley v's Halton F H

11 Mar 07, NO FIXTURE

18Mar07, Halton F H v's Pilkington Recs

07 Jan 07, Saddleworth Rangers v's Halton F H

HORNETS TAKE THE REINS.

HFH U14`s got back into the swing of things this weekend with a trip to Saddleworth Rangers. Following a dismal 2006, a trip away to Saddleworth wasn`t the best medicine they could have been administered to help provide a long time coming victory and lift them off the bottom of Division One.

The away trip wasn`t helped by the fact that the squad was depleted by numbers and only travelled with one substitute.

The HFH U14`s team arrived to find out that the Saddleworth team had been warming-up since 10:00am, and they had five substitutes. So HFH U14`s took to the field for their five-minute warm-up, prior to the 10:30am kick off.

From the outset, the HFH U14`s performed like demons and produced attack after attack with great running drives by the pack in particular Mike O`Brien, Ryan Gardam and Mike Bailey. But the defence work of Saddleworth kept the HFH U14`s at bay - for a period anyway!

From a penalty tap fifteen metres from the Saddleworth line, Ryan Gardam steam rollered onto the tapped ball and powered his way across the line. The conversion was missed.

The Halton F H tackling showed a tremendous improvement from games played in 2006 and this showed itself when the team kept Saddleworth pinned for a hard set of six tackles. Unfortunately, HFH U14`s were penalised on the sixth for a high tackle. This allowed Saddleworth to kick territorial ground and plant them five metres from the HFH line.

But once again, the HFH U14 players maintained their determination to hold out and put in some strong physical tackles. They were able to do this for five tackles and then on the sixth, Saddleworth put in a cross-field kick, which trailed across the HFH try line.

Unfortunately, Chris Brown slipped as he changed direction and he was beaten to the ball by the Saddleworth winger. The conversion was good from the touchline to make the half time score 06 - 04.

The second half was an exact repetition of the first half with HFH dominating the game.

Danny Price, who was only declared fit on the Saturday after a week`s illness, put in a lovely chip kick over the Saddleworth defensive line. Jordan Pennington, returning for his first game after many, many months out of the game due to injury, was reading Pricey`s intentions. Consequently Jordan reacted first to the chip kick and gave chase, and was able to catch the ball on the full. There was no stopping Jordan as he flew straight towards the Saddleworth line and score under the posts. Dave Meadows was successful with the conversion.

HFH couldn`t stop attacking and this probably created a sense of complacency as a very long pass was thrown out by HFH. This was a turning point in the game because the Saddleworth winger latched onto the air bound rugby ball and started sprinting towards the HFH try line.

He gained sixty metres before good defensive cover by David Meadows and Ryan Gardam, brought the winger to ground. With Saddleworth on the ascendancy and the HFH players missing a few tackles after ploughing back from their attacking position, Saddleworth scored out wide. The conversion from the touchline hit the post and went over. This made the score 12 - 10.

With only four minutes to go the coach, Neil Meadows, had a few intervening words with a couple of the players since he could see HFH had dominated the game and he didn`t want them to lose.

From the restart, the HFH players put pressure on the Saddleworth team and were rewarded when they regained possession. The HFH forwards did their work and punctured gaps in the Saddleworth defensive line. This allowed Pricey to operate "pressure free" and when he was given the ball, he put a neat chip kick to the corner flag. David Meadows was on hand to dive full length and ground the ball for a fine try. The touchline conversion was missed.

On the restart, Saddleworth tried a short restart but this didn`t travel the full ten metres so HFH were awarded a free kick. Sticking the ball up their jerseys, the HFH forwards played down the final thirty seconds before the whistle was sounded the end of the game.

This was a much needed win for the HFH players and their fantastic gritty performance will surely instil some much need confidence into the whole squad. Their efforts deserved a reward and what better way than a victory and the collection of FOUR points.

Man of The Match was given to Ryan Gardam.

No other trophies were awarded because each and ever player gave an excellent performance.

Well Done Boys!

SADDLEWORTH RANGERS (U14`s) 12 verses HALTON FARNWORTH HORNETS (U14`s) 14

HFH U14`s Team:

Mike Bailey, James Hilton, Jordan Pennington, Daniel Price, Ryan Gardam, David Meadows, Mike O`Brien, Phil Smith, Josh Cassidy, Ste Shone, Chris Brown, James Parle and Thomas Spencer.

Substitutes for HFH were Kyle R Nickel

14 Jan 07, Ryland Sharks v's Halton F H

HFH U14`s have had a rough season this season with only a couple of wins and as a consequence they were firmly fixed to the bottom of Division One. Last weeks victory, only their second all season, gained them four valuable points, which moved them off the bottom and to fourth place from bottom.

This week they were to face Rylands away - a daunting task.

Rylands had had the opposite season to HFH and were proudly positioned second from top of Division One, so today's game would indeed be challenging for the HFH U14`s players.

With a big crowd watching, HFH kicked off the game but what the spectators didn't envisage, especially the Ryland supporters, was a competitive game of amateur rugby league that had everybody shouting.

Rylands had taken to the pitch with a side that consisted of some big, strong lads and from the look of them you could see why they were at the top of the division.

Unfortunately for Rylands, the HFH team put in their best performance so far this season and they tackled relentlessly, so much so that up to 28 minutes of play, they had not missed one single tackle. That in its self is some improvement for the team.

With Ryan Gardam promoted to Captain, he led by example both in attack and defence. In fact the whole pack throughout played some tremendous rugby with Mike O'Brien charging close to the line, along with Johan Curzon and Jack Williams.

Most of the first half was spent in the Ryland half of the pitch particularly near to the try line. With Rylands defending really well, Pricey, on several occasions, put in a variety of kicks and HFH were unlucky not to get on the end of at least one of them.

It took Rylands 25 minutes to step into the HFH half but a good strong tackle by Jordan Holland caused the opposition player to knock-on. Mike O'Brien put in a storming run as he pattered his way through the Ryland players and this set-up a great attacking platform for the team. On the sixth, Pricey put a punchy kick diagonally across the field and found touch right in the Rylands corner.

Rylands took possession and some good interchange of passing relieved the pressure on their line. The Ryland players started to put their foot on the gas and mounted a good attack on the HFH defenders. With the ball kept alive, Rylands tried the pass that would have possibly resulted in a try but up popped little Pricey who plucked the ball out of the air and scooted away.

He made good ground until tackled by the fullback. From the play the ball, Mike O'Brien gave it his all to get the HFH team right up to the line. But yet again, the defence was strong and it came to the last tackle.

With the ball in his hands it was Pricey's call; what would he do, another variety of kick? He astonished everyone when he neatly put over a drop kick and started running back towards the half way line before the ball had winged its way over the cross bar. From the restart, James Parle put in a great run and his overall game showed a great improvement. With HFH in the attacking mode once again, the half time whistle was sounded, with a score line of 00 - 01.

For the second half, Neil Meadows interchanged Josh Cassidy for Daniel Clegg, with Josh having had a great first half and another player to show a vast improvement in his game.

With Rylands having the wind to their backs the HFHJ was expecting a different encounter but the crowed were treated to another great contest with thrills and spills! Parly put another great run in and was able to flick the ball out to Thomas Spencer. Without a second thought, Tom began to weave his way through the Ryland defenders. Even when he had players hanging from his legs, he continued to power forward, with his mind set on determination. Like Parly and Josh, Tom showed what he's capable of doing on the rugby field.

HFH had Jimmy Hilton at full back and Jimmy played a good game, catching the high balls from Ryland kicks and linking up in the HFH attacks. He would have had to undertake one of the best tackles of his life if the Rylands big fellow had been allowed to run through a gap in the HFH defensive line. That is, until Pricey got involved. With the big fellows busting through and the little fellow (Pricey) sliding across, Pricey jumped up at the Ryland player's arms and grabbed the ball. He defused the situation and regained possession for the HFH team.

Jordan Pennington, who put in a tough hard tackle right at the start of the game, was reluctant to leave the field due to an injury but Neil though it wise to give him a breather after all the hard work he'd put in. On came Kyle to add strength to the pack.

With HFH rampant again, the ball found good hands from Mike O'Brien to Parly and then to Pricey. He mustered up a beautiful kick right for the corner and Thomas Spencer was first to leg it towards the line and dive at the ball with an out stretched arm to ground the ball and score. The strength of the wind was too much for the conversion attempt from the touchline but HFH had increased the score to 00 - 05.

As the HFH players tried hard to maintain their concentration, Rylands put together a nice across field passing movement near to the HFH line. The ball found its way to the winger who managed to find a tiny gap and cross in the corner. The kick was missed and that earlier drop goal of Pricey's was starting to pay dividends.

With 12 minutes remaining, Kyle injuring his knee and Penno re-entered the field with eagerness. The play was now reaching fever pitch and when HFH made a good break, who was there in attack, none other than James Hilton. With Thomas outside him, Jimmy passed the ball to Thomas, who, had he got the ball, would have scored for sure. Unfortunately the ball went into touch.

On the last play of the game, Rylands put in a big long kick into the HFH half and they all started chasing the ball. Jimmy Hilton killed the ball and makes it save in HFH possession. When the whistle sounded one couldn?t tell who was cheering the loudest, the HFH players or the HFH spectators.

This was a great team performance and one for the record books - it was the first time this season that Rylands U14`s had been beaten at home.

This should really instill some real confidence into all of the HFH U14`s players and could not have come at a better time than now because next week, HFH U14`s entertain Kells at Wilmere Lane Playing Fields, in the second round of the National Cup Competition.

Man of The Match was given to Daniel Price.

Once again for the second week running, there were no other trophies awarded. Neil Meadows had deemed that each and ever player gave their all and it would be really difficult to single players out for trophy awards. It was another superb performance by every player and a demonstration of how to play as a team.

Well Done Boys, you all worked really hard and never relented - excellent.

RYLANDS (U14`s) 04 verses HALTON FARNWORTH HORNETS (U14`s) 05

HFH U14`s Team:

Jordan Holland, James Hilton, Jordan Pennington, Daniel Price, Ryan Gardam, Johan Curzon, David Meadows, Mike O'Brien, Josh Cassidy, Jack Williams, Ste Shone, Thomas Spencer and James Parle.

Substitutes for HFH were Daniel Clegg, James Giblin and Kyle R Nickel.

21 Jan 07, Halton F H v's Kells [National Cup Round Two]

PLEASE NOTE:

Kells are traveling from Whitehaven and the kick-off time has been rescheduled from 12:30pm to 1:00pm.

NATIONAL CUP ROUND TWO.

The HFH U14's went into this game with two consecutive victories under their belts but the team they were playing in the National Cup Round Two was an unknown quantity.

With the playing surface of the pitch remarkably intact, HFH's elected to play down the slope with the wind and sunshine to their backs. As it happened, this was a fine call and allowed a rampant HFH U14's to clock-up twenty two points in the first half.

In both attack and defence, the HFH U14's players demonstrated how much they have improved in the later part of this season. A demonstration of this was evident early in the first half when the Kells player tried to burst his way through the HFH line. A busting tackle by Mike Bailey stopped him dead, and more than that, it caused the player to spill the ball. This then put HFH in the attacking driving seat.

Penetrating into the Kells 22 metres, HFH were eager to cross the line and good hands from Jordan Holland to Mike O'Brien allowed Mike to edge his way even closer to the Kells try line only for the ball to be ripped put. From the resulting free kick, the HFH players passed the ball along the line before Ste Shone decided to made a good run for the Kells try area. Knowing he was going to be cut-off, he passed out to James Parle who was held up over the line.

The pressure was still on Kells as HFH pressed hard into their 22-metre area. With Pricey putting one of his across field specialty kicks, there to the front of the opposition's sticks was Mike O'Brien to collect it. Straight from the play the ball, Ryan Gardam collected and powered his way over the try line. David Meadows converted the kick from in front of the sticks.

From the restart, Kells tried to raise their responsiveness but were to keen when they were penalised for carrying on after the tackle had been made and called by the referee. With a quick free kick, the ball was tapped and put in Mike O'Brien's breadbasket. With no fear, Mike "bee lined it" for the line and scored a fine try. The difficult conversion was put over by Ryan Gardam.

Mike Bailey, Mike O'Brien, Ryan Gardam and Jordan Pennington made further and relentless runs. There was also some great work by Jack Williams, Daniel Clegg and Josh Cassidy. This accumulated in another try when, Mike O'Brien got the ball to Mike Bailey who was pulled to ground with a good tackle. From the play the ball, Jordan Holland scooped over the line to score a try. Ryan was just short with the conversion.

By now the whole HFH team were looking for scores and this kept Kells on their back feet. James Hilton was always there to support the attack from his Full Back position and even set them up after collecting cleanly the high clearing kicks of Kells.

From such an attack it resulted in With Thomas Spencer and James Parle in pursuit, the Kells players had no choice other then to kick the ball dead.
With Kells dropping the ball out to the HFH team, they then had to defend their line again. This they did and a resulting scrum gave Kells possession. A clean and well-executed knuckle crunching tackle by Ste Shone caused the Kells player to loose the ball. With Jack Williams giving the crowd something to applaud about with his daring run, the ball was passed out wide with the try line begging, Unfortunately the referee, who was right in line, adjudged the pass to have gone forward.

When Parley collected the ball in the HFH half, he put in a dazzling run to the Kells 22 metre area, and set-up the HFH team in a good attacking position. James Parle didn't hang about even with players still hanging from him; he pounced up and quickly played the ball. There at attacking half back was Ryan Gardam who burst through two players to score. David Meadows knocked over the conversion and with the half time whistle sounded, the score line was 22 - 00 to HFH.

Start of the second half Jack Williams was rested for James Giblin and the heavens opened. The HFH players were now going up hill with the strong wind blowing the rain into each player's eyes. But this did not hinder the HFH team who continued to demonstrate their capabilities, both in attack and defence.

Ryan Gardam was now leading by example and his captaincy was a shrewd move by Neil Meadows. Showing they to could perform stunning runs were Cleggie, Mike O'Brien, Josh, Mike Bailey and Ste Shone.

David Meadows was well into the attack and received a final pass from Mike Bailey and had a clear run-in to score. But it wasn't to be because once again the referee adjudged a forward pass.

At this point the HFH players were at their meanest. With the Kells players attempting to make ground and clear their line, the opposite was happening. The keenness of the HFH tackling drove the Kells team backwards and on their last tackle they were driven over their own line.

From the drop out David Meadows made a stunning burst and a lovely inside pass allowed Mike Bailey to score with players on his back. Pricey was unlucky with the conversion.

It wasn't long before the HFH team were back in the oppositions 22 metre and a fantastic passing movement, with many of the players touching the ball, lead to David Meadows eventually passing to Thomas Spencer. Without further ado, Thomas rolled up his sleeves and darted for the try line. With three Kells players on him and short of the line it looked doubtful that he would score but his strength and determination made him score. Again, the conversion was missed due to the strong wind.

To round things off in the final attack, Ryan contributed another brilliant run and dropped the ball into David Meadows hands. He scored under the sticks and Ryan popped the ball over for the conversion. This then signaled the end of the game as the whistle was sounded.

Again, this was a great team performance by all and every single player in the team and now puts the HFH U14's into the third round of the National Cup.

Man of The Match was given to Jack Williams.

For the third week running Neil Meadows decided not to award any other trophies. The efforts and improvements of ever-single player made it impossible to single out people for trophy awards. Yet again it was another superb performance by the team and showed how a team should play together.

All players deserve credit for today's performance.

HALTON FARNWORTH HORNETS (U14`s) 36 verses KELLS [WHITEHAVEN] (U14's) 00

HFH U14's Team:

Mike Bailey, Daniel Clegg, Jordan Holland, James Hilton, Jordan Pennington, Daniel Price, Ryan Gardam, David Meadows, Mike O'Brien, Jack Williams, Ste Shone, Thomas Spencer and James Parle.

Substitutes for HFH were James Giblin and Josh Cassidy.

28 Feb 07, SRL Championship Games

Students Rugby League Regional Championships at Wilmere Lane.

04 Feb 07, Oldham St Anne's v's Halton F H

[This was a friendly match against OSA's from the Premier Division]

Following a spate of good consecutive performances and wins, the HFH U14's were temporally stopped last weekend when the Student Rugby League Regional Championship Games were brought to Wilmere Lane Playing Fields.

It was therefore essential that the team played this weekend; otherwise they would have gone two weeks without a game. This is something Neil Meadows wanted to avoid because next week the HFH U14's face Wibsey Juniors (Bradford), in the Quarter Finals of the National Cup Competition.

With no league fixture available, the Hornets had to travel along the M62 to face Oldham St Anne's from the Premier League, who were also without a league fixture.

Using the main pitch outside the clubhouse, and with a reasonable crowd watching, the HFH U14's kicked off to OSA's for this 12:00pm friendly game.

Within the space of the first set of six tackles, Oldham had burst through the HFH defensive line to score a try, and basically this set the scene for the whole of the first half.

The bigger size, the zapping passes, the straight runs, the aggressive manner, were all attributes which all of the Oldham players possessed. Their keenness, good positional play and strength, were evident each time they touched the ball. Looking at the two performances, there appeared to be a large gulf between the two divisions.

Having said that, and not using it as an excuse, it was obvious that some HFH players really didn't want to be on the pitch. Could it have been they were thinking about the cup match the following week? Were they concerned about getting hurt? Was the opposition so big, strong and powerful that they knew there was little chance of winning?

Whatever it was, and it was probably a number of things not just one, the HFH players on the field were capable of much, much more than they showed.

If all the HFH players had followed the example set by captain Ryan Gardam, the gulf between the two sides, which was so obvious to see, would have been a mere trickle of water in an almost dried-up stream. Ryan tackled like a demon, copybook style around the legs, and brought the Oldham players crashing to the ground. In attack, Ryan ran straight and strong, with determination and conviction. But one man cannot win games, and unfortunately for HFH, Oldham had lots of Ryan's!

By half time the score line had reached 24 - 00.

In the second half the HFH U14's put a bit more together and 'had-a-go'. With it been a friendly match, HFH were able to make several interchanges, which was really important because some of the players were returning after illnesses and it was clear to see that some of them hadn't fully recovered.

Aiding Ryan in the second half was Jordan Holland who pulled off some fine 'around the legs' tackles to bring the larger running Oldham players to ground.

HFH had few opportunities to score, even in the second half but good across the field passing lead to the ball finding Thomas Spencer's hands. Hugging the touchline, his path was clear and he went for it but some excellent tackling by the covering Oldham player, just caused Thomas's foot to cross the touchline as he clambered to the ground.

Yes the Hornets had a little more about them second half and spent some time in the Oldham section of the field but the class of the Oldham St Anne's players and the attitude of the HFH players, presented a bridge to far. At least for the HFH players anyway!

With the score line now reading 36 - 00 and with some four minutes to go, Dave Meadows sustained a back injury in a mangling tackle involving several players. His out cry off pain caused the referee to temporally stop play immediately.

After some five to ten minutes of no rugby activity, the referee along with both coaches, agreed to blow the final whistle and end the game prematurely to the agreement of both sets of players.

The HFH U14's at least go into next week's game with a recent game under their belts but this is surely one they would rather forget! It can only be hoped that this was a temporally blip and that next week, the players will have already learnt how not to play rugby, and give the travelling fans something positive to shout about.

OLDHAM ST ANNE'S (U14's) 36 verse HALTON FARNWORTH HORNETS (U14`s) 00

HFH U14`s Team:

Daniel Clegg, Jordan Holland, James Hilton, Jordan Pennington, Daniel Price, Ryan Gardam, David Meadows, Mike O'Brien, Phil Smith, Jack Williams, Ste Shone, Thomas Spencer and James Parle.

Substitutes for HFH were Mike Bailey, James Giblin, Johan Curzon, Josh Cassidy and Kyle Nickel.

11 Feb 07, Wibsey Juniors (Bradford) v's Halton F H

[This is the Quarter Finals of the National Cup Competition]]

Please Note: Kick-off time is 11:30am.

Cancelled - water logged pitch.

18 Feb 07, Wibsey Juniors (Bradford) v's Halton F H

[Quarter Finals of the National Cup Competition]]

National Cup Quarter Finals

A trip to Bradford was on the cards this weekend, as the HFH U14`s took on Wibsey Juniors U14`s in the Quarter Round of the National Cup. An early departure was needed for this trip and the coach left Wilmere Lane at 9:00am on the Sunday morning.

For an away trip on a coach, the players all seemed somewhat subdued with little or no preying antics from any of them. It was a rather quiet and relaxed atmosphere; could it have been the early morning call?

Arriving slightly late at the Wibsey Public House H.Q., the players were ushered into the rear changing room for a quick change; packed their clothes into their kit bags, and then vacated the room for the next team. Kit bags were then put into the trunk of the coach and the players hopped on for a trip to the playing pitch.

On arrival at the venue, the Wibsey players were already well into their full swing warm-up preparations. The HFH players commenced their warm-up routines on a reduced time scale.

With the pitch having a rather steep incline, it was obvious there would be no problems with water lodging anywhere on the playing area, and the first half started with HFH playing down the hill.

For the first ten minutes, HFH pressurised the Wibsey line but were unable to find any points. When Wibsey gained ball control and started attacking from their own half, they ran strong and straight. Some good straight on tackling by Ryan Gardam prevented further penetration of the HFH defences. Unfortunately, not all of the HFH players were of the same conviction and the 'team' performance was sadly below par in the first half.

There were some isolated incidents of inspiration and again this was lead by Ryan Gardam, who took the ball running and headed towards the try line. Only a brave tackle saved Wibsey, as Ryan`s foot went over the touchline. Another similar incident occurred in the same part of the pitch, when Pricey lofted a long pass out to Ste Shone. Beating several players and virtually following in Ryan`s footsteps, Ste ran towards the try line. Once again, another good Wibsey tackle forced Ste into touch.

At the other end of the pitch, a magnificent tackle by Jordan Pennington saved the HFH team any further embarrassment, when Jordan prevented the Wibsey player from putting the ball down over the try line under the sticks. The down side to this was the knee injury sustained by Jordan, which finished his game.

Nearing half time, and with the thought of playing up the hill, the HFH team was 16 - 00 down. Up steps Ryan Gardam, who showed true character and led by example. Taking the ball 'up front' Ryan burst his way towards the line and absolutely nothing was going to stop him. Breaking tackles, he reached the try line with four Wibsey players clinging onto him, and was still able to score. Ryan also kicked the conversion to make the score line 16 - 06

With little time left of the first half, the HFH team found themselves close to the Wibsey line again. On the last tackle of the set, Pricey put in a neat speculative across field kick, which mirror imaged that of one of the Wibsey tries, only for James Hilton, who collected the ball neatly ready to score, to be adjudged off side. That then concluded the first half and the HFH players were adrift by ten points, instead of what they thought should have been four points.

In the second half, the HFH teams performance wasn`t to standards but it was an improvement on the first half. There were some good interchanges of play and on several occasions the players put some good attacking moves together. Jordan Holland was solid playing the Full Back role.

On once such occasion, Pricey kept the ball alive on the last and passed it to James Parle who committed his opposite player before passing the ball to Thomas Spencer. Running parallel to the touchline, Thomas embarked on climbing the hill but as in the first half, some good covering tackling forced Thomas into touch.

But the HFH team didn`t give up and battled away. A startling run by James Parle took the Hornets just past the half way line and the Wibsey players were backpedalling. Only some good tackling by Wibsey kept HFH at bay.

As the second half progressed, Wibsey took another try from HFH after an infringement in a tackle by HFH. Tapping and running the ball, the Wibsey players tore his way through four to five HFH players and scored under the sticks. This made the score line 22 - 06.

With the HFH players finding their climbing boots feet in the second half, it was no surprise when Phil Smith through a pass out to James Hilton who dove over the line to score. The conversion was missed but it made little difference, as the final whistle was sounded not too long afterwards.

With a score line of 22 - 10, the HFH team knew this game was one for the taking and this was proven by their second half display. It could have been a different outcome if the players had not left their heads and minds on the coach with the driver!

WEBSEY JUNIORS (U14`s) 32 verse HALTON FARNWORTH HORNETS (U14`s) 10

HFH U14`s Team:

Mike Bailey, Daniel Clegg, Jordan Holland, James Hilton, Jordan Pennington, Daniel Price, Ryan Gardam, Johan Curzon, David Meadows, Mike O`Brien, Ste Shone, Thomas Spencer and James Parle.

Substitutes for HFH were James Giblin, Phil Smith, Josh Cassidy and Kyle Nickel.

25 Feb 07, Pilkington Recs v's Halton F H

Dejected from last weeks defeat in the National Cup, the HFH U14`s were now concentrating on the league and made the short trip to St Helen`s to face Pilkington Recs.

This was the first meeting of these two sides and although Pilks were bottom of the division, with HFH positioned mid-stream, there were only two points separating the clubs. Consequently both teams were eager to earn q victory and secure two additional points. In Pilks case to allow them to draw level with HFH, and in HFH`s case, to pull four points clear of the bottom.

Pilks had a couple of big lads in the pack that knew how to perform in all aspects of rugby league, both in attack and in defence.

With HFH starting the game, the Pilks forwards drove hard into the HFH half and on the last tackle of the first set, the referee adjudged one of the HFH players to be off side. Pilks took the 10 metres and progressed towards the HFH try line. Passing the ball along the line, they scored in the corner but missed the goal.

Four points down and that`s how it remained until half time. The score line reflected the competitiveness of both sides but unfortunately for HFH, their momentum within the first half was constantly stopped because of the number of injured Pilks players.

After the half time lecture, the HFH players took up their positions to receive the kick-off. With a new eagerness, the HFH players penetrated into the Pilks half. On the last tackle, Pricey, who had a rather quite game, put in a chip over the defensive line. The Pilks winger caught the ball but then allowed it to spill from his hands. Scrum down, HFH ball.

From his Loose Forward position, Ryan Gardam picked the ball up and aimed for the try line. He was only stopped short because of the number of Pilks players tackling him. Some quick and neat play the ball work found Mike O`Brien going blind. With Mike collecting the ball in the breadbasket, he pounded over the line in the corner. Ryan missed the conversion. It was now 04 - 04.

From the kick-off, HFH put themselves under pressure by allowing the ball to go into touch. Only some good defensive work by the HFH team kept Pilks at bay. When HFH regained possession of the ball, they were still in their own 22 but this soon changed.

Mike Bailey, who until now was having a below par performance, gathered the ball and made a lovely run to the half way line. Up in support was Tom Spencer, who was making his mark in the game by coming in from his wing and making several determined runs, collected the ball from the `play the ball` position. He made further good ground to put HFH in an attacking position.

With Pricey now collecting the ball for the last tackle, he put in another awkward kick for the Pilks Fullback. Fortunately for HFH, the Fullback knocked on. From the resultant scrum, Ryan tried his arm again and took the ball from his loose position. Taking several Pilks players with him, he scored out-wide. Pricey was unlucky with the conversion.

With HFH now starting to dominate the second half, some good individual runs with the ball were starting to shine through. Johan Curzon, Ste Shone, James Parle, Jack Williams (returning from illness) and Mike O`Brien had some particularly superb runs. This now meant HFH were spending nearly all their time in the Pilks half. Several chip kicks were put in by Pricey and Mike Bailey, which maintained the pressure on the Pilks players.

On one of the set of six, the majority of the HFH players were to the right hand side of the pitch, while the `play the ball` occurred towards the centre of the field. Pilks noticed this unorthodox set play and compensated for this by repositioning players. With Josh Cassidy now on the field, he collected the play the ball, and instead of passing it to the right, he reversed his passing to feed Ryan, who had elected to go left. The gap was there and Ryan scored just left of the sticks. Dave Meadows got the conversion.

With their tails now up, the HFH players started to perform as they can. Johan collected another ball and burst a hole through the Pilks line before getting tackled near the half way line. Not to be out done, Mike O`Brien made a fantastic run, knocking player after player out of the way. A try would have been a just reward but unfortunately he was stopped short.

It was unfortunate, and for whatever reason, the HFH team dropped into a lacklustre mood for a short period, which allowed Pilks to score under the sticks. With the conversion successful, the score line was now 10 - 14.

Straight from the kick-off, the Pilks player was fumbling with the ball as it bounced about in front of him. Out of the blue up pops James Hilton, who had legged it along his touchline. Without a `by your leave` Jimmy neatly collected the ball first time and made his way to the try line. With the covering defence now imminent, he dove nice and low to cross the line for a fabulous try. Ryan was just short of the sticks with the conversion.

With Pilks now desperate for another score, they worked their way to the HFH line. Their determination was nearly rewarded when an inside pass allowed the Pilks player to cross the HFH try line. Fortunately for HFH, Jordan Pennington had spotted the danger and had already positioned himself exactly at that point. His forceful tackle resulted in the Pilks player dropping the ball over the line.

This match ended to HFH`s satisfaction with a score line of 10 - 18. It was an eventful game of rugby played by two determined sides.

The `Man of The Match` award went to James Parle who seemed to be everywhere and into everything; this was a worthy award. The `Most Improved` award went to Mike O`Brien, whose second half performance started to approach his best. The `Best Tackler` award went to Ryan Gardam who never fails to show everybody on the pitch how to tackle. Ryan goes low around the legs with strength, impact and power, which makes the attacking player just collapse to the ground.

HFH have to meet Pilks once more in a rearranged home league fixture. Lets hope the HFH players can push on from this victory.

PILKINGTON RECS (U14`s) 10 verse HALTON FARNWORTH HORNETS (U14`s) 18

HFH U14`s Team:

Mike Bailey, Jordan Holland, James Hilton, Jordan Pennington, Daniel Price, Ryan Gardam, David Meadows, Mike O`Brien, Phil Smith, Jack Williams, Ste Shone, Thomas Spencer and James Parle.

Substitutes for HFH were James Giblin, Johan Curzon, Josh Cassidy and Kyle Nickel.

04 Mar 07, Hindley v's Halton F H

Travelling away for the fourth consecutive week, the HFH U14`s team nipped to Hindley to face a side who beat them at home earlier in the season.

On a cold, windy and wet day the HFH U14`s played against the elements in a first half that delivered only one try. For the first twenty minutes, the HFH team were camped in the Hindley half, and on most occasions, only metres away from the try line.

No matter what they tried, the HFH players were unable to cross the white wash to score points. At times, they were their own worst enemy, trying long passes and high kicks when the conditions didn`t prevail for such tactics.

This was compounded by errors of judgement when holding the ball. Instead of chipping on the last or passing the ball out to a supporting player, the election to retain possession proved to be rather too much for the away fans. No matter how much the fans shouted to pass the ball, it just seemed to concentrate the minds of the players even more to keep retention of the ball.

With their first attacking action and venture it to the HFH half of the pitch, Hindley scored a fine try with the conversion sailing over.

There were some noticeable pieces of action from the HFH players in the first half. Good hard runs by Ryan Gardam and Mike O`Brien brought HFH close to scoring several times. Pricey started to get his kicking game together towards the end of the first half and on one occasion, HFH were unlucky not to score when the Hindley player got to the ball first and knocked it dead.

Tom Spencer had a good linking-up game, coming in from the wing to give the forwards a rest. His deceitful running style ensures that most of the time, he is able to keep the potential tackler wondering what to expect. James `Parley` Parle seems to get better with each game and has settled in extremely well with the squad.

On the defending side, HFH have come on leaps and bounds. The tackling has tightened and strengthened itself, and even with some of the big lads coming through, the defensive line stood proud.

On one set of six, the Hindley players were unable to move anywhere when Jimmy Hilton, who now seems to relish the wing position, put in five consecutive tackles to demoralise the Hindley team.

With the half time whistle sounding, and both teams on the halfway line, Hindley were happy to be leading 06 - 00.

In the second half, and with the elements behind them, the HFH team began to take command. On the first raid into the Hindley half, Mike Bailey put in a cross-field kick, which was scooped up by `Parley` who scored out wide. Ryan was unsuccessful with the conversion.

On another occasion the HFH defence was magically turned into attack. This materialisation occurred when David Meadows, who was chasing a HFH kick on the last tackle, met the Hindley ball collector head-on. Although outsized, David managed to seize the ball from the Hindley player`s possession who in turn looked unfavourably at David, Not waiting to listen to or answer any questions, David had a quick play the ball. Up in support came Ryan `Captain` Gardam with a devastating run. Hindley committed several of their players in an attempt to try and tackle him but it was futile. Ryan`s mind was made up and he crossed the line with Hindley players hanging from him. David Meadows was unfortunate with the kick but HFH were now in the lead.

Not to be out done, Mike O`Brien mirror imaged Ryan`s try by performing the same feat, with Ryan just missing the conversion.

With all the HFH players contributing to a great second half, it was pressure after pressure applied to the Hindley defensive line by the HFH team. Pricey put in another of his cross-fields kicks and David Meadows, collected it and ran straight for the corner flag. On crossing the line, he realised nobody was chasing him so he changed course and continued running until he was behind the sticks before putting the ball down. Ryan got the conversion.

From the restart, Hindley tried a high kick but the wind caught it and took it back into their half the pitch. Pricey was there when the ball landed and with no Hindley players wishing to pick it up, Pricey gave it his left foot and down the field towards the Hindley try line did it travel. Pricey gave chase and when it became evident that Pricey was outpacing the Hindley players, one of them pulled at his jersey and allowed another Hindley player to pounce on the ball.

But the referee was right up with play and seen what happened. Giving a free kick to HFH, Mike Bailey came steaming through to score his second try and secure the release of his bedroom TV set back from his mum. Mike was ecstatic.

The remaining substitutes played their part, getting introduced to the game in the second half and getting stuck-in. Daniel Clegg, James Giblin and Scott McKeown all played their part in this fantastic victory.

Well done to all the squad. You all performed brilliantly second half but you haven`t yet touched the potential that lies beneath the characters of you all!

Enjoy the telly tonight Mike - bet you fall asleep watching it!!!

You all had great games guys.

Man of The Match was David Meadows.
Top Tackler was Ste Shone.
Most Improved Player was Phil Smith.

HINDLEY (U14`s) 06 verse HALTON FARNWORTH HORNETS (U14`s) 24

HFH U14`s Team:

Mike Bailey, Jordan Holland, James Hilton, Daniel Price, Ryan Gardam, David Meadows, Mike O`Brien, Phil Smith, Josh Cassidy, Jack Williams, Ste Shone, Thomas Spencer and James Parle.

Substitutes for HFH were Daniel Clegg, James Giblin, Johan Curzon, and Scott McKeown.

11 Mar 07, NO FIXTURE

NO FIXTURE

18Mar07, Halton F H v's Pilkington Recs

Playing their first league home match this year, the HFH U14`s were entertaining Pilkington Recs at Wilmere Lane. It was only four weeks ago when these two sides met at St Helens, with HFH coming away victorious.

This weekend would be different though because even with HFH been favourites by virtue of that away win, this was Pilks last game of the season, and if they didn`t win, they`d finish bottom of Division One and probably get relegated.

It was all to play for and with the weather conditions been the way it was (very strong winds), it surely wouldn`t be a classic event. But from the kick-off, the HFH team set out their stall when Thomas Spencer collected the ball in his winger position and cut in field. Beating player after player, Tom managed to get himself under the sticks to score a fine individual try. Ryan Gardam tapped the conversion over.

From the kick-off, Pricey collected the ball but was immediately pounced on by three Pilks players. Unperturbed, he managed to off load the ball to Mike O`Brien, who was close to the touchline. Instead of cutting back inside, Mike O`B decided to take the Pilks players on, as he dashed along the touchline, and into he Pilks half. Approaching the Pilks try line and probably thinking he was going to score, Mike was only a short distance away when he had his ankles tapped. He fell to the ground, only a few centimetres short of the line but it had been a terrific run.

The weather conditions progressively got worse with hailstones pelting down. Territorial, there was no advantage to either side, since the winds were lashing across the pitch from wing to wing. In the first half, this meant Jimmy Hilton was kept busy, because he was on the receiving end of most to the Pilks kicks but he never dropped a ball.

In another attacking move, the HFH U14`s swung the ball along the line from wing to wing, and this resulted in David Meadows getting `held-up` over the line. From the resultant play the ball restart, Jordan Pennington skimmed his way over the try line to score in the corner. Pricey got a beautiful conversion from the touchline.

With the HFH team playing somewhere near to potential, a cheeky grubber kick from Pricey started to run and bobble along, on its way to the Pilks try line. As it crossed the line, wingman Jimmy Hilton was there to touch it down, for another three points to HFH. Ryan`s conversion attempt from the touchline was on target but the wind was over powering and drifted the ball wide.

With the game producing some good rugby by both sides, the play swung from one half of the pitch to the other. The difference was the HFH tackling and fitness, which has come on leaps and bounds over the last month or so.

Parley was always hungry for the ball and put some good scooping runs in, while Mike Bailey committed to some `big hits` in the second half.

When Pilks were awarded a free kick, they went for distance and didn`t make touch. There to collect the ball neatly was fullback Jordan Farrell, who started a great attacking run that took him to the half way line. This set-up another HFH attack into the Pilks half and it wasn`t long before HFH were pressing the try line. Some good hands resulted in Pricey laying off a neat short pass to the steaming Ryan Gardam, who was unstoppable and scored.

With the conversion missed by Pricey and the half time whistle blowing, the HFH players were happy to get together in a circle and warm their hands. With a half time score line of 20-00, they deserved a little indulgence.

Second half was in some ways, reminiscent of the first half, at least the start anyway! Ste Shone playing centre, scored a fantastic solo try when he carved his way through the Pilks players to score out wide. Ryan missed with the conversion.

With Jack Williams, Johan Curzon and Mike O`Brien putting some drilling runs in, the HFH attack was always on the move. On one such occasion, Mike O`Brien went blind from the Pilks 22 metre line and scored in the corner. This time, David Meadows missed with the conversion.

The scoreboard was showing 28 - 00 but the Pilks players kept on plugging away and their determination paid off when their big prop forward collected the ball a couple of metres away from the HFH try line. Although the HFH defences were standing up to the Pilks attack, five HFH players were unable to get the big fellow down, and he took them across the line with him.

From the restart, Pricey honed the ball across the top of the playing surface, and with the strong wind behind it, the ball found its way to touch with speed. Scrum down and HFH head and feed.

As the second half began to drift towards completion, the HFH players seemed to ease off the gas and this allowed Pilks to score another try, this time under the sticks.

When the game was stopped for what seemed to be a more than average injury to a Pilks player, both teams tried to keep warm by jumping about. After several minutes, and when the Pilks player was slowly helped from the ground, the referee blew for full time.

It was another win for the HFH U14`s and a double over last seasons ex Premier side Pilkington Recs.

HFH U14`s now have two league fixtures remaining. Lets hope they can maintain a 100% record for 2007!

Man of The Match was Mike O`Brien.
Top Tackler was Ste Shone.
Most Improved Player was Jordan Holland.

HALTON FARNWORTH HORNETS (U14`s) 24 verses PILKINGTON RECS (U14`s) 10

HFH U14`s Team:

Mike Bailey, Jordan Holland, James Hilton, Jordan Pennington, Daniel Price, Ryan Gardam, Johan Curzon, David Meadows, Mike O`Brien, Jack Williams, Ste Shone, Thomas Spencer and James Parle.

Substitutes for HFH were Daniel Clegg, James Giblin, Phil Smith, Josh Cassidy and Kyle Nickle. Back to top