Headingley Carnegie Stadium provided a fitting backdrop for the finals of the Sky Try 9s high school rugby league finals last night to cap off another fantastic year of high school rugby league in Leeds
Following the successful conclusion of the Sky Try qualifying rounds which started in February and the Sky Try 9s playoffs last week at Lawnswood School, the Champions of Champions finals at Headingley brought together the best two teams in the year 7, 8 and 9 year groups to be crowned over all champions.
The year 7 final kicked off the evening of rugby league at Headingley Carnegie Stadium with Brigshaw High School taking on Farnley Academy. After a strong start with the opening try of the game, Brigshaw never looked back despite a spirited effort from their Farnley opponents and tries from Ellis Crossland and Jack Boot.
Leading 3-1 at the half time break, Brigshaw repeated their first half scoreline in the second period with tries coming from Jack Townend, Elliot Roe, Alfie Dean x 3 and Sam Bolton x 2 to take home the Year 7 trophy winning seven tries to two.
In the year 8 final, Farnley Academy this time got off to a quick start scoring first and taking a first half 4-1 lead into the break. With the game looking out of reach for Crawshaw, the Pudsey based school grew into the game in the second period scoring four more of their own tries but Farnley proved too strong on the night and opened a 10-5 scoreline to take home the trophy.
The final fixture of the evening saw Abbey Grange take on Wetherby High school in another high scoring matchup.
Despite their best efforts to contain Abbey Grange throughout the game and establish a footing in the final, Wetherby couldn’t stop a number of outstanding efforts from Abbey Grange with Bolu Shina Aluko claiming four tries and Daniel Okora claiming a hatrick.
Tries from Ben Mayhew, Jacob Beer and William Housley gave Wetherby something to cheer on the night but Abbey Grange proved to be in imperious form adding to their 14 try final score through Danny Afilobi, Bolton Makwedza, Chris Field, Jacob Hanna, Ryan Morley, Louis Dervish and Eddie Sibanda.
As part of the unforgettable experience for the high school teams playing at the famous Headingley Carnegie Stadium, players received their medals from Leeds Rhinos star Jimmy Keinhorst and Rhinos legend Chev Walker.
Final scores on the night:
Year 9 – Abbey 14 v Wetherby 4
Year 8 – Farnley 10 v Crawshaw 5
Year 7 – Brigshaw 7 v Farnley 2
Man of the Match winners:
Year 7 – Elliot Roe – Brigshaw
Year 8 – Ryan Ive – Crawshaw Academy
Year 9 – Bolu Shina Aluko – Abbey Grange Academy