Heworth will line up in the Premier Division again next season for the first time since 1999 following a dominant 46-6 defeat of Oulton Raiders in the Division One Promotion decider on Saturday. It continues an amazing story for one of the NCL's founder clubs who have fought their way back stepping down to the Yorkshire Men's League to claim a spot back in the top echelon of the community game.
It was a tight first ten minutes but once the hosts found their groove, they were irresistible.
Liam Richmond opened the scoring, regaining his feet after good work from outstanding Jack Aldous and Ben Dyson-Dent. Danny Allan goaled and was at the hub of the next score as three tackles after the restart, the ball went left for James Morland to get away from a tackler before Allan unselfishly handed the ball back to the wingman for a spectacular try. A third try came quickly when Liam Jackson drifted right and found George Elliott who raced in without a hand being laid on him. Things got even better when Allan turned try creator once more and Richmond claimed his second try, storming through the hole. Jack Sadler landed his 50th NCL goal of the season, and it was 22-0 after 27 minutes.
A couple of minutes later Heworth were knocking on the door again after Richmond stole the ball from Oulton fullback Keiden Hartley in a one-on-one challenge and Sadler sent substitute Jack Earl crashing through an attempted tackle at the side of the posts. Sadler moved the advantage to 28-0 and that is how it remained until seconds from half-time when Fraser West seared through to cross at the corner.
Nine minutes into the second half Dyson Dent was hit after he passed the ball and Harvey Williamson was sent to the sin-bin. Two minutes later a high tackle from Andy Williamson on Jackson saw him dispatched to the sin-bin to follow his son. Within seconds Tom Barron was held over the line on the left but the prolific Elliott supported West on the right for his second try. Sadler couldn't add to his three goals.
Oulton launched an attack of their own but when Nathan Waters saw his pass intercepted, they were backpedaling and a tip tackle from fullback Hartley saw a third yellow card produced for the visitors.
On the hour a long ball from Sadler gave Elliott time to send Billy Sturdy in for Elliott to goal, and when Oulton lost the ball five minutes later, West arced right and put another four points on a plate for Sturdy. That completed Heworth's account at 46-0 and there was a further yellow card shown to the hosts' Harley Axe following a small flash point as the game went into its final ten minutes.
Holdsworth was then held up over the line for Oulton but there was no stopping Jordan Blagg when he hurtled on to Andy Williamson's pass to claim a deserved consolation for Oulton Raiders and Kieran Walpole goaled. There was to be no stopping Heworth though with mass celebrations commencing on the final whistle.
Heworth: Fraser West, James Morland, Tom Barron, George Elliott, Billy Sturdy; Danny Allan, Liam Jackson; Jonny Payne, Harley Axe, Jack Aldous, Liam Richmond, Liam Watling, Ben Dyson-Dent. Subs: Jack Sadler, Jack Earl, Jacob Harte, Tom Clarke.
T: Richmond 2, Morland, Elliott 2, Earl, West, Sturdy 2. G: Allan 1, Sadler 3, Elliott 1.
Oulton: Kieden Hartley, Kieran Walpole, Adrian Holdsworth, Robbie Powell, Kieron Lowry; Andy Williamson, Harvey Williamson; Lawrence Dibb, Nathan Waters, Matty Stableford, Tom Alexander, Craig Wright. Subs: Jordan Blagg, Charlie Pollard, Dec Storey, Tom Lunn.
T: Blagg. G: Walpole 1.
Elsewhere, Tom Sibley signed off as head coach of Millom with them winning a promotion decider against Leigh East by 20-6 to rise from Division Three while Shaw Cross Sharks set up their own promotion final against Woolston Rovers in Division Two after seeing off Saddleworth Rangers 30-12. In the Premier Division Siddal's season was brought to an end, 8-14 in front of a crowd of more than a thousand at Rochdale Mayfield while Hunslet ARLFC, with Tyler Dargan in unstoppable form, marched into the NCL Premier Division Grand Final with a superb 40-18 win over West Hull.
Results
Saturday 23rd September 2023
Premier Division Play-offs
- Hunslet ARLFC 40 West Hull 18
- Rochdale Mayfield 14 Siddal 8
Division One Promotion Play-off Final
- Heworth 46 Oulton Raiders 6
Division Two Promotion Play-offs
- Shaw Cross Sharks 30 Saddleworth Rangers 12
Division Three Promotion Play-off Final
- Millom 20 Leigh East 6
Fixtures
Saturday 30th September 2023
Premier Division Final Eliminator
- West Hull v Rochdale Mayfield
Division Two Promotion Play-off Final
- Shaw Cross Sharks v Woolston Rovers
Words: Dave Parkinson
Picture: Dave Parkinson
