WESTHOUGHTON Lions under-12’s are gearing up for a big day out next month as they battle it out in the North West Counties 8-12 Development plate final at Preston Grasshoppers.

Neil Hart's side have one hand on the trophy after booking their place final with a 18-16 win against Littleborough recently.

The young Lions and their opponents Littleborough put on a feast of grassroots rugby league with excellent defence from both sides before the visitors touched down for a six-point lead.

Special mention should be made to Adam Walsh, Dan Whittle, Lucas Hall, Luke France and Samir Malik for their rough, tough aggressive tackling.

The Lions then turned great defence into fierce attack with the loose forward and man of the match Jack Holden crossing the line twice in the corner.

Having scored in the corner both kicks were from a distance and into a stiff breeze giving Lions an 8-6 lead going into half time.

Littleborough took the lead with an unconverted try before Lions forwards Kyle Robinson, Ethan Derbyshire, Aiden Cooke and Callum Bennett created space for captain Lewis Hart and stand off Jon Sixsmith to feed the backs out wide. Holden went over in the corner again for his hat-trick after a 50 metre break and he showed great strength to hold off three chasing defenders taking a 12-10 lead.

The see-saw nature of the game continued with 10 minutes left as Littleborough regained a 12-16 lead.

But the hosts were not going to roll over just yet as Sixsmith scored under the posts to make it 18-16 with two minutes left.

After a nerve-wracking few minutes, Tyler Hayhurst made a superb tackle to keep the line intact.

The whole morning was a fantastic advert for junior rugby league. Skilful, physical and respectful, a point not lost on the either team during and after a tough semi-final.

The team are looking forward to their big day out in June, their first attempt at winning silverware.