Swinton Lions were able to continue their winning form, scoring nine tries against Newcastle Thunder to walk away with another league victory.
The performance from the home side at Heywood Road saw the Lions win 52-10, even despite the away side’s early threats.
Thunder went close in the opening minutes, but Tyler Walton was unable to keep the ball under control – from then momentum shifted.
Swinton Lions were able to open the scoring in the first eight minutes, when Jayden Hatton found a gap to send Frank Sergent in at the corner.
And the lead was extended with Jack Stevens converting from the touchline.
And the rampant Lions continued their march on to victory, as three minutes later they were in again when Gav Rodden went from acting half-back to feed Stevens the ball.
Stevens then passed on to George Roby who scored on the left and Stevens converted again.
And then it didn’t take long before the gap in points continued to grow to a large amount, as Hatton then scored his fiftieth career try going over by the posts with Stevens yet again converting – to put them in an 18-0 lead.
Stevens was then the victim in an illegal tackle and referee Andy Sweet placed it on report. From the resulting penalty the Lions scored again when Alfie Sinclair put Stevens over to the left on the posts and he added the conversion to his own try.
After the try was scored there was some fighting and Thunders Tyler Walton was shown a red card.
However, despite the side being shown red they were able to get themselves on the scoreboard, on the half hour mark.
Elliot Shaw kicked for the corner and Jake Dickinson scored in the corner and converted his own try to make it 24-6.
But the Thunders comeback was short-lived as Swinton’s Jordan Paga broke through to feed Jonny Openshaw, and he scored under the posts with Stevens once again converting.
The gap continued to grow as Ethan Fitzgerald then scored in the right corner just before the break, but Stevens could not convert this one.
And as the half time whistle sounded, Swinton Lions could walk in, with a healthy 34-6 lead.
Swinton Lions 34 – Newcastle Thunder 6#OneClubOneVision pic.twitter.com/Ku8df5oHTc
— Swinton Lions RLFC (@Swinton_Lions) July 13, 2025
The second half began, but it wasn’t Swinton who stated quickly as the away side started strong putting the Lions under pressure – with the home side doing enough to hold strong.
And this pressure maintained as Will Linton went over on the left but lost the ball as he tried to score in the 57th minute.
But Swinton Lions were unable to stop these threats, as three minutes later brad Ward latched onto a kick to score in the left corner.
Despite the away side scoring their second try of the game, they were unable to convert.
And as possession changed Jordan Brown then put the Lions further ahead on sixty-three minutes scoring by the posts after some pressure from a penalty.
Five minutes later Hatton scored his second powering down the left before cutting inside to put the ball down with Stevens converting again.
And they Lions were able to finish their dominant performance achieving a half century of points, as Hatton broke through again to complete his hat-trick.
After scoring under the posts, Steven added the conversion as the hooter sounded to make it 52-10.
The Lions will now look towards their next fixture against Midlands Hurricanes on Sunday 27 July, as they will be hoping to continue the winning run as they push to return to the Betfred Championship.
More information about the club can be found here.
Match report provided by Ian Rigg and photo by Matt James.
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