Bulldogs Junior Review - Under-18s, 16s and 12s in action
YOUNG GUNS: Danny Harrison, Timur Sprogis and Rhys Edwards all enjoyed productive weekends for their respective teams.
IT was another busy weekend for Bradford Bulldogs’ junior teams, with the Under-18s, Under-16s and Under-12s all in action.
The curtain came down on the weekend with the Under-18s when they played host to Widnes Wild Academy - hoping to replicate the win they enjoyed in Cheshire earlier in the season.
They got off to the best possible start when Danny Harrison fired past former Bulldogs’ nettie Gabe Lingard with just 65 seconds on the clock.
Widnes enjoyed plenty of chances of their own throughout the game but found themselves 2-0 down through an Ollie Massey strike at 9.37.
Gregor Donaldson halved the deficit soon after but a second for Massey restored the two-goal advantage for the hosts at 13.46.
A smart reverse pass from Rhys Edwards then set up Tom Mardell to make it 4-1 in the 25th minute before Edwards was again the provider for Harrison to score his second at the back door just over two minutes later.
Aiden Lamb pulled one back for the Wild in the 35th minute before Harrison completed his hat-trick with 31 seconds of the period remaining for a 6-2 lead.
Edwards then got on the board with his first of the night to increase the lead further less than two minutes into the third as the Bulldogs further strengthened their grip on the game.
A power play goal from Mack Harris at 51.38 started a comeback for the visitors, who made further inroads with strikes from Gregor Donaldson and Torin MacLachlan to make it 7-5 with more than five minutes left to play.
Any nerves for the home side were quickly dispelled, though, when Edwards doubled his tally off a feed from Harrison at 55.09, the same pair combining just under three minutes later on a breakaway to give Edwards his hat-trick and the Bulldogs a comfortable 9-5 win.
On Saturday, the Under-16s hosted Yorkshire rivals Kingston Sharks looking to build on their win against Whitley Bay earlier in the year.
But they came up against a determined Sharks team, who went ahead through Beau Reeder at 3.31.
That was how it stayed until just over 20 minutes later when Reeder doubled his and his team’s tally before completing his hat-trick with just 11 seconds of the period remaining to see Kingston take a 3-0 lead into the second intermission.
Two goals early inside the first two minutes of the third - a fourth for Reeder and a strike from former Bulldog Charlie Barker - put the game beyond the reach of the hosts, who grabbed a consolation through Harrison at 36.01.
HEROES: Our Under-12s had a great day at the Suttong Sting Academy tournament on Saturday, winning a couple of games and finishing third.
Earlier in the day, the Under-12s travelled to Nottinghamshire to take part in a tournament hosted by Sutton Sting Academy and also featuring Leeds Junior Knights, Billingham Junior Stars and Solihull Junior Barons.
A number of Under-10s featured in their first taste of Under-12s hockey and performed brilliantly as the Bulldogs came home third.
In the opening game against Leeds, Timur Sprogis, Thomas Andrews and Henry Martin grabbed the goals and Samson Collins and Stevie Abdy the assists but it couldn’t prevent a 5-3 defeat.
Celebrations followed in the next game though when goals from Jonas Mtethwa, Thomas Andrews, Evan Bulmer and Samson Collins secured a 4-0 win over Billingham.
A clash with Solihull was next and it went the way of the Bulldogs in a 6-2 win with the goals coming from Andrews, Collins, Abdy, Sprogis (1+1), Bulmer (1+1) and George Clarke, while Mtethwa also bagged an assist.
The hosts were next up and it proved tough going as the Sting won 5-0. All in all a great day for the youngsters, who showed plenty of enthusiasm in what for some was a first experience of tournament hockey - as they continued their development with the Bulldogs.