SWINTON LIONS 40 WHITEHAVEN 12
IAN RIGG, Heywood Road, Sunday

LOUIE ROBERTS grabbed a hat-trick as Swinton made it two wins from two with a seven-try display against Whitehaven, who had a good first-half and went in level at the break.

It meant Lions coach Anthony Murray had success against his former club.

Fullback Roberts put Swinton ahead in the third minute when Reece Briers sent him through a gap and then tagged on the goal.

Whitehaven tried to hit back quickly but a ball-handling error let them down, and it was Swinton who went further in front on 17 minutes when Josh Eaves sent Briers through a gap to score by the posts and give himself a simple goal for 12-0.

The hosts knocked on in the first tackle after the restart, and this put Whitehaven in a good position on the field. They took advantage when a nice kick from Ciaran Walker found Ellison Holgate and he scored at the posts for Walker to convert.

Some good play was produced by Whitehaven, with Jordan Burns causing lots of problems as he tried to get his side over. He had two good chances, and on the second occasion, was held up.

Holgate forced a goal-line drop-out in the last minute of the first-half but with seconds left before the hooter, Brad Brennan took three defenders over the line to score between the sticks and Walker converted to send the teams in level at 12-12.

Brennan almost got a second straight after the restart but knocked on just short of the line.

Swinton’s Tom Ratchford then knocked on, but it was he who, on 50 minutes, sent out a nice pass for Trent Kelly-Duffy to go over by the posts. Briers converted.

Walker then kicked a 40/20 for Whitehaven, but it came to nothing when Seth Woodend couldn’t take a long pass.

From this point on Swinton were in control and on 62 minutes, a nice short kick by Jordy Gibson produced a second try for Kelly-Duffy and another goal for Briers.

Patrick Ah Van scored on 68 minutes when Gibson and Briers combined to send him over wide out.

Roberts added his second try with ten minutes left after a nice pass from Jordan Brown and Briers converted.

Woodend had another chance with six minutes left before Roberts completed his hat trick after Whitehaven knocked on. Some good build u play enabled him to race away to score on the right, and Briers added the two.

There was more Whitehaven pressure in the final minutes, but the home defence held them out.

GAMESTAR: Swinton substitute Charlie McCurrie did the hard work in the middle with great tackles and great runs.

GAMEBREAKER: Following Trent Kelly-Duffy’s try on 50 minutes, Swinton didn’t take a backward step.

MATCHFACTS

LIONS
1 Louie Roberts
32 Patrick Ah Van
33 Dante Morley-Samuels
20 Adam Jones
5 Harry Higham
6 Reece Briers
36 Jordy Gibson
22 Jordan Brown
9 Josh Eaves
10 Ben Killan
11 Gav Rodden
23 Deane Meadows
31 Finlay Irwin
Subs (all used)
21 Tom Ratchford
18 Bobby Shingler
17 Trent Kelly-Duffy
26 Charlie McCurrie

Tries: Roberts (3, 70, 35), Briers (17), Kelly-Duffy (50, 62), Ah Van (68)
Goals: Briers 6/7

HAVEN
1 Jordan Burns
19 Dave Eccleston
2 Mitchell Todd
4 Ethan Bickerdike
28 Seth Woodend
6 Ciaran Walker
33 Luca Walsh
8 Jake Pearce
9 Ellison Holgate
25 Alfie Sinclair
11 Connor Holliday
23 Ben Pearce
13 Jack Kellett
Subs (all used)
16 Brad Brennan
29 Alfie Briggs
24 Lewis Brown
26 Cole Marsh

Tries: Holgate (20), Brennan (40)
Goals: Walker 2/2

SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 12-0, 12-6, 12-12; 18-12, 24-12, 28-12, 34-12, 40-12

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Lions: Charlie McCurrie; Haven: Jordan Burns

Penalty count: 3-5
Half-time: 12-12
Referee: Carl Hughes
Attendance: 733