Myton Warriors capped off an extraordinary end-of-season turnaround to lift the National Leagues' Cross Conference Shield, grinding out a hard-fought 18-12 victory over a resolute Ashton side in a tense encounter.
In a clash that tested the Warriors' resolve to the limit, it was veteran forward Jonno Douglas - filling in at prop - who proved to be the hero of the hour, charging over before the final whistle to seal the silverware for the Hull outfit.
Captain Liam Ward produced a Player of the Match performance from hooker, serving as a constant menace out of dummy-half to direct his young side around the park.
Speaking after the final whistle, Myton head coach John McCracken reflected on a dramatic afternoon and his side's trait of taking the scenic route to victory.
"I think that's typically of the Myton club that I took over three years ago," McCracken said. "If we're going to do something we might as well make it as hard as we possibly can for ourselves.
"But to be fair, credit to Ashton. I thought they were real dogged and they really stuck at what they were good at and that was being real direct and they never gave in so I think full credit to them for making it a competitive game.
"And likewise to our boys, I think we just stuck in and we did what we're supposed to do. And finally, luckily, it was only the old guard vice captain who comes up with a play at the end to win the game."
Match-winner Douglas, who was called upon to fill an urgent void in the front row due to injuries, has been weighing up retirement at 29. However, McCracken hopes the late-game heroics will tempt him into delaying his hanging up of the boots.
"To be fair, Jonno's a back rower, and we've got a few missing this week, so I asked him to step up to prop," McCracken explained. "And I think he did a tremendous job.
"He's been really good for the three years I've been here, and hopefully that try might give me one more year next year. He's 29 and he's been thinking about retiring but I think I've got another couple of years in him hopefully."
While the experience came up big when the pressure was on, the core of this Myton side is built on an exciting foundation of local youth. Outside of 29-year-olds Douglas and Ward, the remainder of the squad is made up entirely of players under the age of 23 - including six who remain eligible for Under-18s rugby.
"The other 29-year-old is the skipper Liam Ward who got another man of the match today," McCracken noted. "The squad's really young. Everyone else in the squad's under 23 and there were six lads who could actually play under 18 tomorrow if there was a game, so the future's going in the right direction.
"I took over the club three years ago and it was probably a year too early if I'm honest. I had a plan and my plan is still coming to place but it was about getting the young through, transitioning the squad.
"I want the youth to be prominent in what I'm trying to do and like I say, 15 of the 17 today are all under 23. So, again, like I say, with our under 18s, the future is looking positive."
The Shield triumph caps off a remarkable mid-season revival for the Warriors. After dropping seven of their opening eight fixtures, Myton transformed their campaign, winning 11 of their final 12 games to finish the year on an overwhelming high.
"I was looking forward to this season. And we was really disappointed. We lost seven of our first eight games, but and we've now won 11 of our last 12," said McCracken.
"And it was something I spoke to the group about. I said, look, we just missed out on the playoffs. And if I'm really honest, I don't think we was ready for that playoff promotion stuff yet.
"And I just wanted us to boss a set of challenges and I said look if we're going to enter this shield, let's go on and try and win it and build a platform to try and build on something next year and see where we go."
With the first year now completed under the new competition setup, McCracken is keeping his sights set firmly on the top tier of amateur Rugby League, targeting long-term success as his young squad continues to mature.
"It's a year one and I think I was one of the ones who initially said I'm happy to go regional as long as there's a pathway," McCracken concluded.
"Because my ultimate goal is I want to coach Myton Warriors in the Premier Division of the NCRL and that's my ultimate goal and people may laugh at that but I see West Hull as the benchmark. A good friend, Ryan Steen, coaches them and I've got a lot of friends who play down there but my focus is on Myton and trying to challenge them in hopefully the next four to five years with the youth I've got. They're the benchmark and I want to see if I can challenge myself against them and that's the aim."
By Dave Parkinson
Photo Credit: 13 Pro-Am Community RL
