Quiet on here again!

Anyway, Woolston 42-24 Bury.

Actually pretty pleased with this result. Travelled with only 4 recognised forwards and 24 lads missing (about 10 missing from the 1st team) and gave a decent account of ourselves against a much, much bigger Woolston squad containing half the team that beat Irlam in the cup final a few months ago. And I was ill & shouldn't have played



A terrible first 5 mins saw us concede 2 quick tries but we picked our game up and I think we were only 6 behind at half time, my guess would be about 20-14 or something. Woolston kept rolling their big lads on and our undersized pack struggled, we conceded a few soft tries to kill ourselves off. After a bit of niggle they started throwing arms, fists & elbows but we didn't rise to it. The ref & touch judges were about 15, ref did his best but was intimidated a lot by the home team & crowd.

All in all, a decent game, enjoyed it, our lads did themselves proud.

I thought it was a good game yesterday at Woolston. There was always a danger of it becoming a bit of a runaway after those 2 tries before Bury had touched the ball but those 2 gifted tries brought Bury back into it and from there it was a great game. Late tries made it look like it was easy for Woolston but it wasn't.

Good luck for the rest of the season Cronus!

Time of the week. Who you think will win



Bury Broncos vs. Portico Vine
Crosfields vs. Hindley A
Culcheth Eagles vs. Ashton Bears A
Little Hulton Reds vs. Bolton Mets
Wigan Bulldogs vs. Fitton Hill
Woolston Rovers A vs. Chester Gladiators

I think all the home teams will win apart from Bury. Nothing against Bury i just think Portico are the team to beat at the min

NEW PLAYERS WANTED

Leyland Warriors are looking to recruit more players at Open Age level. As some of our results show from earlier this season, we have some quality lads on board but just need more numbers.

Long story short, due to a combination of several players travelling on gap years, emigrating, working weekends, long term injuries and so on, we are struggling for numbers. Very frustrating, especially given as all of our junior teams are flourishing in the change of season.

If you are without a club, or looking for a change of scenery, PM me for more details.

You're not on your own pal! Our juniors are going great but open age is a blooming nightmare! We have a long list of names but trying to get the bodies is another matter!

Our downfall is two things really. Firstly a young team, several of whom are backpacking their way round Aus and a few more spending the whole summer in Napa! Second, no U18s team come through for 2 years. Fast forward 18 months and we'll be fine!

Finally had some players back, others were on their Saturday off work and put in a great performance.

Little Hulton 18 - 27 Bury Broncos

Blew them away in the first half, 20-0 at half time, probably our best performance in a few years. We said at half time we'd need to stay switched because the ref would try and bring them back into it and that's what happened. Their first try was in touch and he piggybacked them down the field several times on loads of petty penalties, inevitably leading to a couple more tries, but credit to our lads we held on and put in a great shift.

Finished with no fit subs and a few running on injuries, proud of the lads today and good to get back to winning ways.

Bury 68 - 18 Bolton



Belting performance! And with 4 first-choice forwards and a few first-choice backs missing. Played a perfect game against a bigger Bolton pack - moved the ball about and hit good lines through the gaps. Credit where it's due, Bolton have been struggling for numbers but they turned up and kept going (mind you, they always get numbers for the big derby

), but we were never in danger of losing. Some great running from a few lads today. Our biggest ever win and margin.

Can't say much more than that! Now to celebrate!

holding 2nd spot in league but whats happened last two weeks?

Culcheth have got first sorted, I'm guessing Portico will push on to take 2nd unless they've any lads who go back to winter clubs or Woolston come good again?

After that, going to be a battle. Lots of clubs in the mix. 2 points separating 5 clubs from 4th to 9th!

Thats a lot of (24 players) players missing mate, was it because of injuries?

we've a lot of lads who've shown an interest in playing from week in week out players to guys who are coaching our juniors to Union lads who want a go to a few lads from winter RL teams who want a game to lads who've played for us in the past and only want the odd run out (such as if their Mrs is away!)...it creates a long list (must be 60ish on the full list!).

what we have found is that every second week we have the same group of regulars who are unavailable because their shift patterns are in sync. Combine that with some regulars being on holiday, some are injured and also the club enforcing rules on being paid up (no pay, no play) and it means we can have lots unavailable. we also tend to only use the occasionals for the 2nd team as it's not fair on those who train if we bring people in when suddenly short.

so, any given week 20 - 30 can be unavailable...and if they happen to be regulars as opposed to the occasionals it causes an issue. for Woolston away we had to pull in people who'd only played the odd game and a player from our last winter season who had retired to become a referee. this weekend will be other way i suspect, 30+ available and pressure from players to get an A Team game arranged!

Part of the 'hard sell' for summer rugby was that fixtures could be rearranged and played mid-week so freeing up the weekend. Well that's another great idea they had that doesn't work! Out of seven attempts I have only had one taker - and that was for us to travel away. Much easier to refuse and claim an easy 2 pts.

Bury 54-22 Wigan Bulldogs

Another superb result, after having never beaten Wigan since we both first entered NWC in 2008, we've finally done the double over them. Went 18-6 up, Wigan pulled it back to 18-18, then we drew clear with a bit of a blitz in the second half, including a few length of the field efforts. After being a close game we won comfortably in the end. Good game played in good spirit. Wigan have clearly lost players from last season, but they kept going.

122 points in 2 games now, granted we've faced weakened teams but you've still got to score 'em!

In other results - Portico 100-12 Bolton, and Hindley & Woolston both conceded.

we still have Hindley to place twice and Woolston at home...

Agree with that, lots of empty promises made before the switch especially in terms of flexibility which was attractive to those clubs going from winter to summer. I think the best thing now is to let this season fizzle out and start again in earnest next year when the majority of teams have had a break. From what I'm told there won't be much if any alteration to the league structure so it'll be a case of as you were lads. A bit concerning to see all last weekends games in div 4 going down as 24-0's.

Our club is pretty happy with the structure overall so quite content if there are no major changes.

Numbers have been up and down and we have found holidays and weekends away a bit of an issue but most of these were probably organised last year. Will be interesting to see if we have the same disruption next year.

Hopefully, the league season will kick off in early March meaning there is the option for a two-week break in August as we have found this month the toughest. The sooner the NWML get things arranged and announced the better so we can let players and officials know.

Given the number of conceded games in Div 4 and also how Accrington and Newton have gone, I think the Div 5 standard is on average better than 4. some clubs went too high with their pitch for what division to be in, especially some 2nd teams, and others based our decision on where we were, not where we are. could (should?) see some movement between 4 and 5 I think

p.s. agree we need information to plan! bloody nightmare trying to get winter facilities if not booked over next two weeks....

so, how do we all think it will end up? I think we shoudl aim for 3rd, although it may depend on whether teams can field a team and i'm sure others will be aiming for 3rd place too. My thoughts here www.pitchero.com/clubs/burybroncos/

so, how do we all think it will end up? I think we shoudl aim for 3rd, although it may depend on whether teams can field a team and i'm sure others will be aiming for 3rd place too. My thoughts here www.pitchero.com/clubs/burybroncos/

Bury 70 - 0 Woolston A

What can I say? Woolston fielded a very young team - and a very different team from the game at their place (no first-teamers this time!). First half was ok but our handling was terrible, kept ourselves trapped in our own half through errors and stupid decisions.

Then the ref sin-binned Woolston's best runner after about 20 mins for leading with the elbow. The lad had a grumble & as he walked away he threw the ball over his shoulder & hit the ref on the head! Immediate red card - was a complete accident though. Woolston were never in it after that but they kept going even with a few frustrated lads.

Anyway, was only 12-0 at half time, then we just clicked into gear with 58 points in a 30-minute second half as the ref blew early. A few lads escaped the end-of-season naked lap today - even grabbed my fourth of the season!



Now to take that into next week against a much tougher prospect in Culcheth.

We put a team on the pitch. What more can I say?

These gibes about playing first teamers are getting boring now. We haven't got a first team full of first teamers never mind spares to bolster the second! Let's just say, this summer hasn't been as good for us as for you and we can't wait to see the back of it!

Our 1st and 2nd team played on pitches side by side yesterday and we (2nds) brought a sub on who scored pretty much with his 1st touch. The conversion was held up while we had to convince the referee and the away side that it wasnt actually a lad from the 1st team who'd just been subbed in that game only to be used for a sub for us! The fact that our 1st team bench was on completely the opposite side of the pitch and using different kits seemed to be lost on the opposition and ref. Comedy gold.

Like you we'll be glad to see the back of this season, the break will do us good and hopefully see the injuries etc clear up and get back to some normality and stability next season. One thing I've picked up talking round the clubs we've played is the lack of enthusiasm for the swicth so far, I'm sure that will work itself out as the years go on. In yterms of playing parity the balance seems to be about right certainly in div 5 all the teams seem much of a muchness (probably with the exception of Portico) and I'm not expecting to see much if any movements next season. On another note, another 10 24-0's yesterday again must be a worrying sign. I'd like to see if there's a comparison between the 18-0's in the old winter league vs the 24-0's for this summer.

Most of our team came to watch the Irlam vs Woolston NWCL final in April, indeed one of our coaching team and a couple of occasional players played in it. Let's just say in the game at your place in July a lot of familiar faces from that final lined up against us, and your 1sts didn't have a game that day. It's not like your lads aren't a recognisable bunch! I'm not complaining, as long as it's within the rules you play the best team you can field.

Big credit to you for fielding a team yesterday - it was clear when you were registering lads before the game you were struggling. Many teams wouldn't have bothered turning up. In fact when we played at your place we were in the same boat - we were down to 9 lads on the Friday, spent the day pulling lads in and signed 1 or 2 on the Saturday - had probably 30 unavailable and a couple of us were ill, and another few played on injuries.

It's been good for us barring a few periods where we've struggled for numbers (like everyone else). Holidays, festivals, work all hit hard in the summer. One week we've 30+ lads, the next we're down to whoever is available. Our inconsistent results speak for themselves, again probably like everyone else.

Must say a big thank you to your team. A lot of our lads were only young and some playing in their first open age game got a bit more than they bargained for! My coaches tell me that your players offered them lots of encouragement throughout and showed great sportsmanship. Thank you.

doesnt sound much like Cronus!



we've had some hidings over the years - and we know how it can hurt. anyone who steps on a pitch is there to try and deserves credit so running water on and giving a bit of support where we could was the least we could do. everyone at our end thought your number 11 was superb despite not being the biggest - made every tackle and broke through a few times.