ST JOSEPHS’ Sharks Under 17s celebrated the return to action of Liahm Thurtle to secure a 26-12 triumph over Clayton.
It was Liahm’s first game since he suffered a brain haemorrhage in September 2011 (see news pages for full details).
And it couldn’t have gone better for the returning hero and his team as they gained a thoroughly-deserved success.
It was clearly a nervous time for his family and especially his dad, Andy, who was acting as assistant coach.
But Liahm came through the game well, putting in some good tackles and taking a number of runs up field during a rock-solid comeback.
To be honest, the team as a whole had a good game in their first match after the Christmas period.
There was a determination to come away from Bradford with a win under their belts and, after a period of domination when the home side struggled to get out of their own half, Ryan Swift barged his way over the try line in the corner and Jakob Garside added a superb touchline conversion.
And by half-time, the Sharks were in command at 16-6, thanks to further tries from prop Sam Whitworth and Jordan Cogan, with Garside landing another goal.
In the second half, the visitors were able to keep their noses in front, adding further tries through Frazer Morris and Garside.
The team’s coach Craig Lee was unable to attend the match as he was having an operation on an injury sustained in the open age game against Queens on the previous day, but stand in coach Steve Eastwood and assistant Andy Thurtle were full of praise for the boys.
The team have no game scheduled for Sunday but they will be in Yorkshire Cup action the following week as Premier League side West Bowling visit Fartown.
The junior summer teams are now back in indoor training at 6.00pm on Wednesdays at The Zone on St Andrews Road.
The club are aiming to run teams at Under 8s, Under 9s, Under 11s and Under 12s which covers school years 2 to 7.
New players are always welcome and for more information please contact Mark Wells on 07939 493695.
