Rugged Rangers up for the battle

BATTLE OF WITS . . . Saddleworth's Jason Best tries to evade the challenge of West Bowling’s Johnny Summers.

AMATEUR RUGBY LEAGUE: SADDLEWORTH Rangers coach Keith Brennan was delighted his side escaped a sticky situation to record another win in National Conference League division one.

At 16-14 down, visitors West Bowling had the table-topping Greenfield side in their sights and, but for missing two late penalty chances at Shaw Hall Bank Road, would have picked up two points.

In poor conditions, though, Brennan felt his troops did a good job to record a victory which keeps Rangers three points clear at the top.

"The weather evened things up, but our lads showed up well," said Brennan.

"They had their chances at the end due to us not controlling the ball as well as we might have done.

"But the defensive effort was a big plus and at the end of the day, we have picked up another two points."

Full-back Stephen Nield was excellent for Saddleworth, the 18-year-old returning a two-try haul, while Michael Coates also stood out.

Ryan Smith's try and an Elliott Cousins conversion gave West Bowling an early lead, reduced when centre Tom Lever crossed for the home side.

Nield then grabbed his first, converted by Coates, before a Cousins penalty reduced the gap to two points at half-time.

Nield's second try and a Coates goal gave Saddleworth an eight-point cushion before Bowling winger Damien Smith touched down, Cousins converting.

Cousins then failed with a shot at goal and a further penalty chance went begging after the visitors elected to run it rather than go for the kick.




OLDHAM St Anne's enjoyed a cracking victory over East Leeds in division two which keeps them hot on the heels of front-runners Eccles, whom they meet on Saturday.

The 50-0 win at Higginshaw Road was not as easy as the score makes it sound, with Saints having to work hard to crack a side coming into the game on the back of four straight wins.

"It took us an hour to really break them, but after that we scored some cracking tries," said St Anne's coach Mick Cashin.

"Some of the skill levels on show were unbelievable, really."

John Fox stood out in the forwards, but this was a real team performance from the home side, who have now registered a superb 404 points in only 10 league matches.

Fox, Martin Ryan and David Harris scored first-half tries as Saints took a 16-0 lead into the break, Kiel Lancashire converting twice.

Lancashire, Darren Fletcher, Danny Kay, John Gillam and Gary Rafferty (two) touched down in the second half, Lancashire ending the day with seven goals.