LOCAL bragging rights were at stake at Ledgard Avenue on Friday night as Leigh East and Leigh Miners Rangers met in the Lloyd Pugsley Memorial Trophy game. The two sides had a small sprinkling of first team players but the lack of star names did not detract from a fiercely contested game.

Miners took the lead after 15 minutes when scrum half Tom Maloney ran, Declan Flannery found an offload and Joe Harrison put Jake Ellis over for Sam Shepherd to goal. Minutes later a second try looked likely when Shepherd intercepted Tom Worthingtons pass, but the defence raced back to deny Lewis Grimes.

The competitive nature of the contest brought many penalties and defences were certainly on top until the final three minutes of the half. First burly prop Steve Keegan rumbled over after the running of Steve Ormesher. Worthington converted and the scrum-half turned creator with a high bomb that was spilled by Grimes. Ryan Gray followed up to go in at the corner and East led 10-6 at the turnaround.

The hosts started the second half impressively, scoring two tries in the first eight minutes and were never really in danger following this salvo.

East halfbacks Ben Parry and Worthington quickly settled and the pair combined for Parry to slice through the defence and breeze to the line from 25 metres. The goal was good and the hosts took their score past twenty when veteran hooker Safraz Jama jinked to the line, lost the ball backwards on contact and Phil Bickerstaff plunged over. Worthington hit his third goal.

Just after the hour Miners briefly threatened a comeback when Maloney did all the running from the back of a a scrum before Lewis Lingard scored, but normal service was resumed seven minutes later when an astute kick from Worthington was picked up by the on-rushing Danny Grainey for the substitute to dash over. Worthington made it four goals for the night and Leigh East closed impressively to collect the silverware.