Latchford Albion Giants U12 - 16
Crosfield Cobras U12 - 26

The Giants magnanimously loaned six players to a severely under strength Crosfield Cobras to fulfil this scheduled fixture with Giants players Jordan Sherlock, Luke Wood and Thomas Blackshaw scoring all but 4 of the Cobra's points. Luke Gillooley made an inspired interception of the ball from the Crosfields line with Jack Buckley catching a pretty impressive ball from one of the Cobras kick offs. Steven Pilkington, Lloyd O'Brien and Luke Gillooley did sterling work in defence with good solid tackling and Tobias
Nesarajah bagged the largest number of attacking drives on his debut for the Giants.

Try scorers (giants): Steven Pilkington, Luke Gillooley and Jack Buckley
Goal scorers (giants): Luke Gilloley x 2,

Try scorers (cobras): Jordan Sherlock x 2, Thomas Blackshaw, Luke Wood
Goal scorers (cobras): Jordan Sherlock, Luke Wood, Mathew Lewis

Other good performers: Player of the Match was Taylor Wheat, Top Tackler was Lloyd O'Brien and the coaches award went to Tobias Nesarajah on his debut for the giants. Back to top

02/10/2005 v Culcheth Eagles (away)

Culcheth Eagles U12 - 0
Latchford Albion Giants U12 - '30'

The Giants put up a good showing against the Culcheth Eagles with both Jordan Sherlock & Luke Gilloley scoring hattricks, Luke Wood scored two tries and Philip Johnson, Jack Swindells, Taylor Wheat and Thomas Blackshaw scoring one each. Liam Hanley played a particularly good match in supporting play with Steven Pilkington completing 10 excellent tackles during the match.

Try scorers: Jordan Sherlock x 3, Luke Gillooley x 3, Luke Wood x2, Philip Johnson, Jack Swindells, Taylor Wheat, Thomas Blackshaw.
Goal scorers: Luke Gilloley x 3, Luke Wood x 2, Steven Pilkington, Jordan Sherlock

Other good performers: Player of the Match was Liam Hanley with the coaches' award going to Daniel Harbidge for his excellent attitude on the pitch. Back to top

09/10/2005 v Parkside Golborne (home)

Latchford Albion Giants U12 - 10
Parkside Golborne U12 - 36

The Giants took an early lead against a well-organised Parkside team but then had to work hard in defence as their hosts started to apply their own pressure. This was turned into points that eventually took the game beyond the Giants' reach. Jordan Sherlock scored two tries while Luke Gilloley kicked a goal. Thomas Blackshaw won the top tackler award and was voted player-of-the-match for a fine all round preformance. The coaches singled out Luke Gilloley for his contribution to the game. Back to top

16/10/2005 v Culcheth Eagles (away)

Culcheth Eagles U12 - 22
Latchford Albion Giants U12 - 36

Consistent play from both sides provided good rugby for the spectators at this local derby match with a good spread of scoring from the Giants players. Some particularly good play was displayed by Lloyd O'Brien on the attack and Steven Pilkington in defence with both Taylor Wheat and Jack Swindells putting spirited effort in throughout the match.

Try scorers: Luke Wood x 2, Lloyd O'Brien x 2, Steven Pilkington x 1,Taylor Wheat x 1, Philip Johnson x 1.
Goal scorers: Luke Wood x 1, Jordan Sherlock x 1

Other good performers: Player of the Match was Luke Wood with the Coaches' Award being awarded to Lloyd O'Brien. Back to top

23/10/2005 v Blackbrook Royals (away) Lancashire Cup 2nd Round

Blackbrook Royals U12 - 36
Latchford Albion Giants U12 - 0

This was a difficult game for the Giants to prepare for. After lending players to struggling opponents for most of the season to date they found themselves pitched in against one of the top sides at this age group in this second round Lancashire Cup tie. The Giants may well have been comprehensively beaten but did hold the higher division Blackbrook outfit to just ten points at half time, with a couple of significant errors contributing to what was a fairly solid performance throughout regardless of the result. Jack Buckley came out with the player-of-the-match award while Jordan Sherlock picked up the Coaches' Award. Back to top

30/10/2005 v Crosfields Cobras (home)

Latchford Albion Giants U12 - '34'
Crosfield Cobras U12 - 4

The Giants outscored the Cobras in what at times appeared from the sidelines to be a fairly balanced match. Andrew Gilbert, Jack Swindells, Lloyd O'Brien and new player Tobias Nesarajah played particularly well with a solid performance from Steven Pilkington and an excellent conversion rate from Luke Wood who picked up the player of the match award. The slippery ball conditions due to the persistant rain throughout the match resulted in a few ball handling errors that kept the scoreline potentially lower than it would have been. O'Brien collected the coaches' award and Andrew Gilbert was top tackler.

Try scorers: Andrew Gilbert 2, Luke Wood, Jack Swindells, Steven Pilkington, Luke Gilooley, Jordan Sherlock 2
Goal scorers: Luke Wood 5, Luke Gilooley, Jordan Sherlock Back to top

06/11/2005 v Westhoughton Lions (away)

Westhoughton Lions U12 - 20
Latchford Albion Giants U12 - 18

The Giants were pipped at the post after leading throughout the match in what was a heavy weight but balanced match. Luke Wood scored two tries and had a 100%conversion rate. Lloyd O'Brien applied his strength and weight to push the defending Lions back over their try line to score the Giant's third. Andrew Gilbert worked particularly hard throughout the match and earned the Player-of-the-Match award, the Coaches' Award went to Jack Swindells with theTop Tackler being Taylor Wheat. New player Tobias Nesarajah started superbly as he performed a text book tackle on one of the Lions who who considerably larger than himself. Back to top

13/11/2005 v Latchford Albion Unicorns (home)

Latchford Albion Giants U12 - '30'
Latchford Albion Unicorns U12 - 0

This was a great game for the spectators who watched this local derby match and witnessed some particularly skillful match play and effective team work from the Giants that produced a bundle of tries down both wings. With all but one of the tries being at the far extremities of the try line only one was converted with the distance to the goal being a tad to far for the Giants' kicker. The Unicorns never gave up the fight and came close to
scoring in the last minutes of the second half but the Giants' defensive line held out until the final whistle.

Taylor Wheat worked particularly hard throughout the match. He was rewarded with two tries and earned the Player of the Match award. The Coaches' Award went to
Sam Brennan who was also on the score sheet. Andrew Gilbert was top tackler.

Try scorers: Luke Wood, Taylor Wheat (2), Philip Johnson, Jack Buckley, Sam Brennan and Jordan Sherlock.
Goal scorer: Jordan Sherlock (1) Back to top

20/11/2005 v Crosfields Vipers (away)

Crosfield Vipers U12 - 12
Latchford Albion Giants U12 - 30

The Giants had already met Crosfields Cobras twice this season before they made the relatively short journey to visit the Crosfields Vipers and to play what must have been one of the only games actually still on in the town. The 11 and 12yrs old lads competed in harsh frozen conditions when others much older had decided it was not for them. The game, like the pitch, was solid and tense and the Giants held on to their early lead
throughout the match. The Giants' 100% conversion rate maximised the points available from the five tries obtained from close on the Vipers' line.

Coaches' award winner Thomas Hill got stuck into the match after settling down on his debut with top tackler Taylor Wheat putting in sterling work in defence and attack. Luke Gilooley put in consistent work in all over the pitch, especially driving the ball forward and converting all four of his attempts on goal. The Giants' try scorers were Andrew Gilbert, Taylor Wheat (2), Sam Brennan and Jordan Sherlock. Jordan also kicked the other goal Back to top

27/11/2005 v Chorley Panthers (away)

Chorley Panthers U12 - 12
Latchford Albion Giants U12 - 10

Low temperatures and persistant, driving rain that turned an autumnal day wintery led to a mutual decision to abandon the match after 15 minutes of play in order to prevent injury to the Under 12s struggling against the elements. The quater of an hour played was an exciting affair with 22 points on the board and just two points separating the two teams. Luke Gilooley and Jordan Sherlock had registered tries for the Giants with Luke Wood kicking over a goal. Andrew Gilbert had impressed as had Philip Johnson, while Taylor Wheat was topping the tackle count. Back to top

04/12/2005 v Weaverham Wolves (home)

Latchford Albion Giants U12 - 18
Weaverham Wolves U12 - 4

The Giants' very strong defensive line would have kept the Weaverham Wolves at bay for the entire match if it wasn't for one basic avoidable mistake in the second half. Most of the Giants' match play was defensive but their counter attacking play proving extremely effective with three long range tries. Jordan Sherlock scored a hat-trick to earn the player-of-the-match award. Top Tackler Sam Brennan scored the other try and Luke Wood kicked a goal. The Coaches' Award went to Thomas Blackshaw for an impressively consistent all match performance. Back to top

11/12/2005 v Westhoughton Lions (home)

Latchford Albion Giants U12 - '30'
Westhoughton Lions U12 - 0

What a difference a few weeks can make. Just over a month ago the reverse fixture provided a win for Westhoughton, however, in this game the Giants very strong defensive lineout kept the Lions at bay for the entire match. Most of the Giants match play was again defensive with Latchford hitting the Lions on the break to full effect with four long range tries out of the six they scored.

Luke Wood earned the Player of the Match award. The Coaches' Award went to Daniel Harbidge for an impressively consistent all match performance whilst the Top Tackler was Jack Swindells. Latchford's try scorers were Jordan Sherlock (2), Luke Gilooley (2), Andrew Gilbert and Jack Buckley. Luke Wood kicked three goals, while Steven Pilkington and Luke Gilooley kicked one each Back to top

08/01/2005 v Westhoughton Lions (away)

Westhoughton Lions U12 - 8
Latchford Albion Giants U12 - 18

As this unusual season broke into 2006 it came as no surprise that the Giants' first opponents of the new year should be the same as their last opponents of 2005. In fact this is the third time these two opponents have met this campaign. Honours were even with the results going with home advantage in the previous two encounters so speculation was rife as to who would come out on top in this game. True enough it proved to be a solid but tense match but one in which the Giants held on to their early lead throughout the match. Player-of-the-match, Jordan Sherlock scored his third hat trick of the season with Steven Pilkington grabbing the other try. Sam Brennan kicked a conversion. The coaches' award went to Lloyd O'Brien with with the Tackle Count being dominated by Taylor Wheat. Back to top

15/01/2006 v Rylands Sharks (away)

Ryland Sharks U12 - 8
Latchford Albion Giants U12 - 20

The first round of the North West Counties cup threw together local rivals the Sharks and Giants for what proved to be a game played at a very fast pace throughout. The giants held onto their early lead throughout to go through to the draw for the next round.

Two tries from Jordan Sherlock and a try each from Liam Hanley and Taylor Wheat, together with goals from Sherlock and Luke Gillooley took the Giants to twenty points and a points gap that failed to represent the contribution made by Rylands to a close-fought game. Player of the Match was Liam Hanley, while the Coaches' Award went to Thomas Blackshaw. Topping the tackle count was Andrew Gilbert with 13 tackles. Back to top

22/01/2006 v Saddleworth Rangers (home)

Latchford Albion Giants U12 - 10
Saddleworth Rangers U12 - 12

A solid, heavy-going match was witnessed today where scoring was hampered on both sides by strong defensive lines. The match was ultimately decided by the kicking. Ben
Sherlock scored his first try for the Giants and player-of-the-match Jack Swindells crossed for the other. Lloyd O'Brien kicked a goal. The coaches selected Louis Elston for their award whilst Steven Pilkington was the top tackler. Back to top

05/02/2006 v Culcheth Eagles (away)

Latchford Albion Giants U12 - '30'
Culcheth Eagles U12 - 0

Culcheth must be fed up to the back teeth of the Latchford Giants this season with a quirk of the fixture list having pitted them together on three occasions so far and fortunately for the Eagles that should be the last meeting between the two this campaign. This last part of the trilogy was a fast paced affair. The Giants' strong defensive line, led by top tackler Taylor Wheat, hampered some strong match-play from the Culcheth Eagles.

By shutting out the home side a platform was laid for the team sheet to show seven different try scorers and three more on the goal kicking register. Tobias Nesarajah and Thomas Hill both scored their first tries for Latchford. Hill, who collected the coaches' award, beat four or five defenders on his way from the half way line to cross the try line. Player-of-the-Match Philip Johnson and Taylor Wheat kept up their record of both scoring a try in each game against the Eagles. Liam Hanley, Jack Buckley and Lloyd O'Brien also crossed for tries with O'Brien kicking a goal. Jordan Sherlock kicked two goals while Sam Brennan and Luke Gilloley also converted. Back to top

12/02/2006 v Leigh East (away) NWC Cup quarter final

Leigh East U12 - 10
Latchford Albion Giants U12 - 14

This quarter-final of the NWC Development Cup proved to be a real heavyweight match played on a reduced pitch due to flooding. It resulted in a terrific battle of skills in both attack and defence from both sides. A number of players performed particularly well including Ben Sherlock who provided a great attacking run from the Giants' own 10 metres to the oppositions' 20 metre line. There was a terrific try from Thomas Blackshaw and some great defensive work from Taylor Wheat and Andrew Gilbert against much heavier players. Lloyd O'Brien and Jordan Sherlock chipped in with tries as well. This was without doubt the Giants toughest and most physical match so far this year. Back to top

19/02/2006 v Latchford Albion Unicorns (away)

Latchford Albion Unicorns U12 - 14
Latchford Albion Giants U12 - 20

Both Latchford Under 12 sides fought out a fast-paced match played with a cold cross wind that resulted in a fair few mistakes due to cold hands. The weather also put paid to any sort of kicking game with only one conversion registered from the eight tries scored between the two sides. A number of players performed particularly well for the Giants including Ben Sherlock who scored his first two tries in style for the Giants shirt. Tom Hill, Jack Swindells and Liam Hanley added three further tries to the giants score sheet. The player of the match was Ben Hill with Jack Swindells getting the Top Tackler Award and Steven Pilkington the Coaches' Award. Back to top

26/02/2006 v Mayfield Mustangs (home)

Latchford Albion Giants U12 - '30'
Mayfield Mustangs U12 - 0

This was fast paced match played with a cold cross wind that resulted in a fair few mistakes due to cold hands. The Giants played the wing to their advantage and defended their own line particularly well. Coach Award winner Louis Elston scored his first try for the Giants and player-of-the-match, Jordan Sherlock, got two in the second half. Lloyd Elborne had a good match on his debut for the Giants and got stuck into some good match play from the start. Sam Brenan was the top takler Overall an extremely well refereed and good tempered match, a credit to both sides.

Latchford try scorers: Louis Elston (1), Andrew Gilbert (1), Philip Johnson (1), Liam Hanley (1), Jordan Sherlock (2), Luke Gilooley (1)
Goal scorers: Jordan Sherlock (1), Luke Gilooley (2), Lloyd O?Brien (1) Back to top

19/03/2006 v Latchford Albion Unicorns (away) NWC Cup semi final

Latchford Albion Unicorns U12 - 8
Latchford Albion Giants U12 - 30

It is a shame that the semi final draw of the North West Counties Development Cup threw together both Latchford U12 sides and put paid to any thoughts of a glorious final between the two. The Giants had already beaten Rylands Sharks and Leigh East to get to this stage, while their opponents had overcome Crosfields Cobras and Culcheth Eagles. Both knew there could only be one winner and this time fortune favoured the Giants.

Two Jordan Sherlock tries down the right, both converted by Luke Gilooley gave the Giants an early lead. The Unicorns countered and scored out wide to keep the game tight. Jordan completed his hat trick before the interval; again Gilooley added the extras to give the Giants an 18-4 half time lead.

Ben Sherlock came on for the second half and managed not only to score two tries but also topped the overall tackle count. His namesake Jordan kicked one conversion while Sam Brennan kicked the other. The Unicorns competed all the way and did score another try out wide but the game was won and the Giants now travel to Blackpool to meet Westhoughton Lions in the Final. The all round efforts of Andrew Gilbert earned him the Coaches' award Back to top

26/03/2006 v Rylands Sharks (home)

Latchford Albion Giants U12 - 4
Ryland Sharks U12 - 0

The score line shows what a gripping match this was from start to finish from two of the best sides in this age and group in the Warrington area. Neither side really had the upper hand and the match was decided by the Giants' Liam Hanley who scored the only points with a splendid try at the left-hand corner flag. New signing Max Walker had
a storming debut for the Giants with some terrific drives into the Sharks' line. Taylor Wheat again proved his worth defensively with double figures for completed tackles and collected the Top Tackler award. Luke Gillooley and Ben Sherlock put in a lot of hard work in driving the ball forward for the Giants and Andrew Gilbert and Lloyd O'Brien did likewise defensively. Lewis Elston recived the Coaches' award Back to top

02/04/2006 v Latchford Albion Unicorns (away)

Latchford Albion Unicorns U12 - 4
Latchford Albion Giants U12 - 24

For the fourth time this season the two Latchford U12 sides met. The game was effectively won in the first half as The Giants raced to a comfortable 20 point lead by the break. Taylor Wheat pulled out all the stops for the Giants and bagged two tries with Andrew Gilbert, Sam Brennan and Jordan Sherlock getting the other three. Luke Gilooley and Jordan Sherlock also kicked a goal apiece. A number of players performed particularly well including Ben Sherlock, Liam Hanley, Andrew Gilbert and Steven Pilkington on the offence with player-of-the-match Taylor Wheat, top tackler Jack Buckley and Coaches' Award winner Sam Brennan doing likewise in defence. Back to top

09/04/2006 v Crosfield Vipers (home)

Latchford Albion Giants U12 - 34
Crosfield Vipers U12 - 20

Player-of-the-match, Luke Gilooley pulled out all the stops for the Giants and bagged three tries in what was a most entertaining match. Top tackler Taylor Wheat shone again in defence along with Ben Sherlock and Sam Brennan in a match with very few penalties and ball handling errors. Taylor also grabbed a couple of tries, while Ben Sherlock, Jordan Sherlock and Jack Buckley each scored one. Jordan Sherlock also kicked over a goal and Lloyd O'Brien was selected to receive the Coaches' Award. Back to top

23/04/2006 v Chorley Panthers (home)

Latchford Albion Giants U12 - 20
Chorley Panthers U12 - 4

Player-of-the-match, Ben Sherlock put in 110% effort in defense and on the offence for the Giants enabling the them to maintain a good advantage on the field. Top tackler, Taylor Wheat shone again in defence and Liam Hanley put in some good work on the offensive in a match with very few penalties and ball handling errors on both sides. The Chorley referee did a splendid job refereeing a match that was enjoyed from both sets of spectators.

Try scorers for Latchford were Jordan Sherlock, Jack Swindells, Andrew Gilbert and Thomas Blackshaw. Jordan Sherlock and Luke Gilooley each kicked a goal. Lloyd O?Brien collected the Coaches' Award. Back to top

30/04/2006 v Westhoughton Lions (NWC Development Cup Final)

Latchford Albion Giants U12 - 26
Westhoughton Lions U12 - 4

What a wonderful way to conclude the season, a trip to Blackpool for 77 followers of the Latchford Albion Giants and one extra guest on the way back, namely the North West Counties' Development Cup. The Giants had to be at their best to beat Westhoughton Lions and they were, playing a flawless game. Daniel Harbidge wore Warrington Wolves' star Lee Briers' rugby boots in the final that he had received from the player after they beat Bradford the previous week (see the item on the News page for more on Dan's 'Bootiful Day'). Five spectacular tries were scored in succession against the Lions who, despite a good defensive line, spent the majority of the match in their own half.

The Latchford try scorers were Jordan Sherlock (2), Andrew Gilbert, Steven Pilkington and Jack Buckley. Luke Gilooley kicked over three goals. The NWC officials select a player-of-the-match from one of the two teams and selected the Giants' Jordan Sherlock to receive this special individual honour. Back to top