WESTHOUGHTON Lions returned to action on Saturday with a thumping 38-6 victory at Cadishead Rhinos.

The fixture was originally scheduled as a home tie but due to fixture clash it was agreed hosting duties would be swapped.

Victory moves the lions up to fifth position in North West Men's League Division Four, level with next Saturday’s opponents Rylands Sharks A on six points.

The opening 15 minutes were extremely tight, and the lions wasted the chance to take the lead, spilling the ball with only the Rhinos full-back to beat.

But the disappointment did not last long, and when Damian Windsor caught a high bomb from Simon Speakman, Westhoughton scored the opening try.

The lead was doubled soon after when James Haydock sent debutant Jamie Parker in to score his first Lions try unopposed.

The Rhinos threatened to come back into the game but two solo efforts from distance, the first an 80-yard sprint from Ryan Berry, sent Westhoughton in at half time with a 20-point lead.

Cadishead started the second half the brighter and converted their only try of the game to make it 20-6.

It was a shock to the Westhoughton system, but they answered convincingly.

From that point the half belonged to them and the division’s leading scorer Ryan Berry.

Berry added three more tries to his sprint from the first half.

It was a result which delighted coach Geoff Sheelan.

He said: “It was a good win for us as Cadishead were immediately above us in the league.

“The lads have worked hard in training on defence and support play and all of that was apparent in the game. It is down to their effort and will to succeed that we produced one of our best performances this season.”