Swinton Lions at Wheelchair 4s Tournament

Alan Dixon at Liverpool John Moores University

The Lions wheelchair team created more club history by sending two teams to the Wheelchair 4s tournament. Each game lasted 20 minutes.

First game on pitch one, the Lions faced local rivals Salford. The Lions turned the ball over which allowed Salford to attack the line and score in the third minute. A minute later, they were attacking the Salford line. The ball was moved out wide to Charlie Gordon, but he could not take in the pass with the line wide open. Salford scored again three minutes later. Dan Robinson intercepted a Salford pass in the 11th minute. He was tackled short of the line. The Lions moved the ball around and Dan was again tackled short of the line. The attack ended when Charlie Gordon lost control of the ball as he went through a gap. The Lions next attack ended when Andy Unwin lost the ball. The ball was recovered by Salford who went down the other end to score. They scored again in the 16th minute. The game ended with a kick through by Andy Unwin in the last minute which forced Salford to drop out.

The Lions next game was against Warrington Wolves. Swinton attacked the Warrington line early on but were pulled up for a forward pass in the 3rd minute. This allowed Warrington to go on the attack. The ball was moved out to Paul Prince to score in the corner. More pressure on the Lions line ended in another Warrington try by Paul Harding in the 10th minute. The Wolves thought they had scored again three minutes later but Ben Stiff lost control of the ball whilst touching down. Swinton finished the game the stronger. A Dan Robinson kick forced the Wolves to drop out. The Lions next attack ended with a loose pass gave Warrington a chance, but they went into touch as they recovered the ball.

Attention now turned to their next opponents Leigh Leopards. Leigh scored straight from the kick off. The ball was moved out wide to Rob Tickle who raced in at the corner to score. The Lions first attack ended with them losing the ball. Rob Tickle recovered the ball and raced away to score. Michael Wakefield cut through the Lions defence to score in the 4th minute. Swinton went on the attack and a chip over the top by Dan Robinson went dead in goal in the 6th minute. From the restart, Leigh moved the ball out wide to Reece Sharp who raced down the wing to score. The Lions almost scored in the 8th minute, but Andy Unwin lost control of the ball whilst trying to score. Leigh scored again in the 11th minute. A misplaced Leigh pass created a wide open gap for Reece Sharp to race down the wing to score. Two minutes later the scored again when Paul Brown scored in the corner. A kick by Andy Unwin forced Leigh to drop out in the 16th minute. From the restart, the Lions attacked the line. It ended when a kick by Elina Parker went dead in goal. Leigh had the final say when the attacked from deep in their own half. The ball went out to Paul Brown who went half the length of the field to score.

Next up for the Lions was Woodlands Warriors. The Warriors scored first in the second minute when Cam Cockerton held of the Lions tacklers to score in the corner. A minute later, Kieron Hammond weaved his way through the Lions defence before passing the ball out to Ella Case who raced down the wing to score. They scored again from the kick off Cam Cockerton scoring in the corner. It was now the Lions turn to attack. Charlie Gordon was tackled short of the line. The ball was moved across the field to Andy Unwin to score. Woodlands went back on the attack. Dan Robinson intercepted and went the full length to score. The Warriors hit back immediately when they moved the ball out to Cam Cockerton to score in the corner. The Lions lost the ball on their next attack. Cam Cockerton broke away through the Lions defence before giving out an inside pass to Sarah Ennis who scored under the posts. They scored again two minutes later when Cam Cockerton broke through the Lions Tackles to score. He got his fifth try when he scored under the posts in the 17th minute. The Lions had the last say in the final minute. Andy Unwin broke through the Warriors defence before passing the ball out to Dan Robinson. He was tackled short of the line. The ball was moved out wide to Robin Cronshaw who was also tackled short. The ball was then switched back across to Andy Unwin who scored under the posts.

The Lions final game was against Hull Kingston Rovers. Rovers scored first when missed tackles allowed Harry Norton to go on the outside to score in the first minute. A minute later they were in again. Mia Morfitt broke through the Lions defence before sending the ball out to Ella Taylor who scored in the corner. The Lions were penalised near their own line two minutes later. The ball was moved out wide to Ella Taylor to score. The Lions attacked the Rovers line in the 9th minute but conceded a penalty. Rovers moved the ball out to Mia Morfitt to score. A knock on ended the Lions next attack. A Harry Norton kick over the top was recovered by Mia Morfitt who scored to increase the Rovers lead. Swinton got a penalty in the 13th minute. The ball was moved across to Dan Robinson whose pass sent Elina Parker in to score. They scored again from the restart. Andy Unwin broke through the Rovers defence but was tackled short. The ball was moved into the middle and then back out to Andy Unwin to score. A minute later they scored again. A quick play the ball by Andy Unwin sent Dan Robinson on a run. His pass over the top sent Robin Cronshaw in at the corner. Rovers hit back straight from the kick off. The ball went out wide to Mia Morfitt who raced down the wing to score. From the restart, the Lions moved the ball downfield. A dummy by Dan Robinson sent Andy Unwin in at the corner.

Meanwhile on pitch 2, Swinton Lions A were playing at the same time.

Their first game was against Salford A. Salford opened the scoring in the 8th minute with a Skyava Abel try before the Lions levelled it up with a Duncan Clarke try two minutes later. Skyava Abel scored again for Salford in the 16th minute. Duncan Clarke levelled things up again for the Lions a minute later. Skyava Abel got the winner for Salford in the final minute.

Their next opponents were Gravesend Detonators. The Detonators scored first in the 3rd minute with a Dave McCullie-Cambie try. Duncan Clarke scored a try in the 8th minute to level things up. Gravesend ran away with it when Gracie Playfoot scored a hat-trick of tries in the 12th, 14th and 15th minutes.

Widnes Vikings were the Lions next opponents. A Alex Howe tries put Widnes into the lead in the first minute. That was followed by an Emma Williams try a minute later. Stephen Roberts scored their next try in the 8th minute. Six minutes later Widnes scored again when Dixie crossed the line to score. He scored again a minute later. Chris Haycock increased the Widnes lead with a try in the 17th minute. Their final try came in the last minute when Will McClymont scored.

Next up were St. Helens. Saints opened the scoring in the first minute with a Jason Molloy try. Aiden Dawson increased the Saints lead with two tries in the 3rd and 5th minutes. The Lions only score came in the 18th minute when Duncan Clarke scored.

The Lions final opponents were Hull Kingston Rovers A. Owen Norton opened the scoring for Rovers in the first minute. He scored again two minutes later. Ruben Kay increased their lead in the 5th minute. Three minutes later Joshua Mackenzie increased their lead. Ruben Kay got his second try in the 10th minute. Owen Norton doubled his try tally in the 11th and 13th minutes. Karl Jacob got Rovers eighth try in the 15th minute. Joshua Mackenzie got his second try in the 17th minute. Owen Norton got his fifth try in the 19th minute. This was quickly followed by Joshua Mackenzie completing his hat-trick.

Swinton Lions 0      Salford 16

Team: Andy Unwin, Robin Cronshaw, Dan Robinson, Charlie Gordon. Sub: Elina Parker.

Swinton Lions 0      Warrington Wolves 8

Team: Andy Unwin, Elina Parker, Dan Robinson, Charlie Gordon. Sub: Donna Robinson.

Swinton Lions 0      Leigh Leopards 28

Team: Andy Unwin, Elina Parker, Dan Robinson, Donna Robinson. Sub: Robin Cronshaw.

Swinton Lions 12      Woodlands Warriors 28

Team: Andy Unwin, Robin Cronshaw, Dan Robinson, Charlie Gordon. Sub: Elina Parker.

Tries: Unwin (6,19), Robinson (7)

Swinton Lions 16      Hull Kingston Rovers 28

Team: Andy Unwin, Elina Parker, Dan Robinson, Donna Robinson. Sub: Robin Cronshaw.

Tries: Parker (13), Unwin (15,19), Cronshaw (18)

Swinton Lions A 8      Salford A 12

Team: Duncan Clarke, Andy Ainley, Ian Cronshaw, Mark Jackson. Subs: Jace Parker, Louis Liptrott.

Tries: Clarke (10, 17)

Swinton Lions A 4      Gravesend Detonators 16

Team: Duncan Clarke, Andy Ainley, Louis Liptrott, Mark Jackson. Subs: Jace Parker, Ian Cronshaw.

Try: Clarke (8)

Swinton Lions A 0      Widnes Vikings 28

Team: Jace Parker, Andy Ainley, Ian Cronshaw, Mark Jackson. Subs: Duncan Clarke, Louis Liptrott.

Swinton Lions A 4      St. HHelens 12

Team: Duncan Clarke, Andy Ainley, Ian Cronshaw, Mark Jackson. Subs: Jace Parker, Louis Liptrott.

Try: Clarke (18)

Swinton Lions A 0      Hull Kingston Rovers A 44

Team: Jace Parker, Duncan Clarke, Andy Ainley, Louis Liptrott. Subs: Ian Cronshaw, Mark Jackson.