A fumbled catch from the kick-off by the opposition allowed an alert Liam to seize upon an early score-trying opportunity and in truth, the team never looked back with Lowther going over shortly thereafter.

Unfortunately, following a tough hit, there was a long break in play whilst Charlie was left to receive medical attention. Credit to our juniors, they remained calm and focussed under the coaching of Liam and Steve whilst Mark ensured Charlie was comfortable (Charlie was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with muscular damage, which would heal with some rest – thankfully!) Max added to the tally before the break with some superb handling and strength to cut through the defence.

Period 2 and 3 saw the Junior Oilers advance their lead with an unanswered 5 tries scored by Mikey, Stanley, Noah. Debutant, James, made an impact with some hard hitting runs only to be caught in a tackle, which saw him sit out the final period.

Matthew and Conor worked tirelessly in the middle with some excellent rucking and ball distribution and, despite cultivating 3 tries of their own, Sandbach’s late surge was too little too late to overcome the mighty Oilers as Noah strode in for another try to seal an 11-7 victory.

Coaches, Liam and Steve were extremely happy with the performance today noting a stand-out contribution by Stanley, but all in all were so pleased with the team dynamic and commitment to each other after such a long period away from competition that the team as a whole shared the accolades of Man of the Match and TREDS.

We can’t wait to get back out there again!