Leigh East Under 18s ran in ten tries in this friendly against plucky Portico.

East named a 23 man squad in comparison to their visitors bare 14 players.

The hosts had the first opportunity a couple of minutes in when Brad Whelan and Lewis Clarke got the ball wide to Lewis Cozens but good cover tackling put him in touch.

Seven minutes later, Portico scored the first try of the game when Shorrocks powered over from 15 metres.

These early stages were evenly fought but two tries in three minutes at the end of the first quarter saw East take control. The first saw James Fleming charge for the line and his offload found Carter Quigley. The hooker dived over for Whelan to add the conversion.

From the restart, Leigh East then went the length of the field. The try was initiated by loose forward Dale Whitworth and finished from 30 metres by the supporting Whelan who scored for a 12-4 lead.

The second quarter was also keenly contested before long striding Corey Hamer found space and dashed for the corner. Alex Leadbetter converted via the upright and it remained 18-4 at half-time.

Early in the second half Portico were forced to reshuffle as they lost a couple of players to injury. 

It took East a little time to get into gear but when they did, they were irresistible. James Fleming turned from try provider to scorer and was unstoppable from close range. Whelan added his fourth goal and when Will Ludlow raced over from 40 metres from a scrum play; and Whelan banged over the goal, Leigh East knew they had this game in the bag.

There was no let up for the visitors when Connor Wilcock ran forty metres from the restart and points were never far away. A Portico turnover on their line saw Whelan race through for an opportunist second try and the halfback soon swept in from his hat-trick and added hi sixth goal to make it 42-4 at the end of the third quarter.

Quigley was on hand to dive over for his second try after a 65 metre James Fleming run and although Portico continued to battle, East finished strongly with two more tries. The first brought a superb 40 metre finish from Sean Halpin before Ludlow went over for his second following build up play from Whelan and Harvey Massey. Whelan struck his 8th goal to confirm the win and an impressive 28 point personal haul.

Squad: Lewis Clarke, Jack Kirkpatrick, Conner Eckersley, Lewis Cozens, Josh Grimes; Brad Whelan, Harvey Massey; Callum Bailey, Carter Quigley, Connor Wilcock, Sean Halpin, Cole Bretherton, Dale Whitworth, Will Ludlow, Ethan Fleming, James Fleming, Canaan Thomas, Callum Lewis, Corey Hamer, Jack Yates, Alex Leadbetter, George Hutton, Tom Eldridge.

Tries: Quigley (2), Whelan (3), Hamer, J Fleming, Ludlow (2), Halpin. 

Goals: Whelan (8/9), Leadbetter (1/1).

By Dave Parkinson

Picture: Brian King - King Pix