THEIR open age team may have taken a one-year hiatus from competition, but Wetherby Bulldogs Junior section is going from strength to strength and building the club for the future according to stalwart Andy Hunter.
Bulldogs took the difficult decision to pull out of Pennine Six this term after only a limited number of players turned up to pre-season training.
However Hunter is adamant it will not be the death of the club with plans in place to re-enter the l
eague either next season or the year after.
In the meantime it’s all about youth development with Bulldogs continuing to nurture an exciting crop of rugby league stars for the future.
“We had to hit it on the head this season,” said Hunter.
“It was a shame really, we had the coaches in place but no-one was coming down to training.
“We had eight down and despite trying to get more down it just didn’t happen.
“It’s unfortunate for us, we’ve been going since 1986. It was a tough decision to make but we felt it was the right one.
“We’ll reassess our options for next season now. We’ve got some really good youngsters at the club in our Under 16s but we’ll just have to see if they’re ready.
“If they are there’s an option to come back in next season or we may have to wait a little bit longer.”
Bulldogs’ U-16 side has already got off to a strong start in their league season and Hunter hopes they continue to fire on all cylinders for the remainder of the campaign.
They were unfortunate to lose to York Acorn 12-10 in one of their recent results but Sunday’s resounding 30-4 triumph away at Castleford Panthers delighted Hunter.
Tries by Andy Maxted (2), Ellis Leach, Sam Hunter, Matthew Walsh and Tom Tetlow sealed the win, Tetlow also kicking three goals.
Tomorrow the side will look to prolong their winning run when they welcome Normanton Knights to the Ings (11.30am ko).
BULLDOGS U-15s passed a very physical test against Hunslet Parkside, winning through 14-0.
Alex Ganch scored the opener before Ash Winstanley extended the lead after a great pass from Ryan Gallacher.
Matt Goodall completed the scoring with Matt Brewer kicking a goal from an acute angle.
Coaches Player went to Jonathan Fairclough and Man of the Match to the hardworking Ben Finder.
Elsewhere BULLDOGS U-13s drew 18-18 with Hunslet Warriors, Jordan Brown and Jonah Adshead (2) both claiming tries and Mark Brewer converting all three.
Man of the Match went jointly to Jordan and Jonah, with Coaches Player going to a hardworking and aggressive Sam Foster.
The full article contains 466 words and appears in Wetherby News newspaper.
