IF Cian Tyrer adds more tries against Cornwall tomorrow (Sunday) to the SIX he chalked up in our 62-0 win at Hunslet he could become the outright leading try scorer in Betfred League One.
His six of the best at the South Leeds Stadium rocketed our 22-year-old left-winger to joint top with Keighley’s Ellis Robson.
It’s 2 v 3 tomorrow when Cougars entertain North Wales Crusaders, but if Cian scores more tries for our table-toppers than Ellis does for the Yorkshiremen, our Leigh lad will be out on his own at the top.
Jamie Ellis, meanwhile, is given a well-earned day off tomorrow so he might well release his No 2 spot in the goals charts.
Tyrer and Ellis, incidentally, currently sit second and third in the ‘points’ list behind Keighley’s Jack Miller, so there is more than enough incentive there for a full-of-confidence Tyrer to resume against Cornwall where he finished off against Hunslet, writes ROGER HALSTEAD.
it will also be interesting to see whom Sean Long picks to partner Danny Craven at half-back in the absence of the hugely-experienced Jamie Ellis. Long has acquired some very useful young inside backs to play behind his enormous and highly experienced forwards, so will it be Logan Astley, or Jordan Paga, or loanee PLT or Keiran Tyrer. cousin of Cian ?
Any of that quartet has the skill and the ability to put bums on seats, but even though Cornwall are still the sport’s new boys and have lost the two league games they have played so far don’t run away with the idea that coach Mike Abbott’s men are easy beats or are all Cornish RU lads who are learning the rudiments of rugby leagie.
A fair few members of their squad are from the north with a lot of experience of league, including two former Oldham guys in outside backs Tom Ashton and Harry Aaronson, both of whom are in the squad for tomorrow.’
Tom is a powerhouse player who made an exciting start to his Oldham stay a few years ago and then picked up a serious knee injury which put paid to that. Noe aged 31, he joined Cornwall two years ago from Rochdale Hornets. Cornwall beat Hornets 18-12 in he final game of last season – their first league win against a heartland team – and Ashton set up three tries in a performance that was described as one of Cornwall’s best-ever.
Aaronson, a product of Saddleworth Rangers, is more noted for his speed. He played initially in the academy teams at Wigan and Huddersfieldand then played for Keighley. Swinton and home-town Oldham before heading off to Cornwall two or three years ago.
Also in the Cornwall squad are two players who signed only this week – a young half-back or hooker from Australia called Bailey Black as well as Nathan Conroy, who returns to the club for a second spell after previously playing for Bradford Bulls, Coventry Bears, Oxford and Hunslet. His latest club was Keighley, but he hasn’t played yet this season so he moved back to Cornwall.
Black, the 21-year-old Aussie, has an English mum and dual citizenship, but he is a typical young Aussie, who was born and brought up in that rugby league hotbed town of Redcliff. He first played for Mackay Cutters and then joined Brisbane Tigers.
While with the Tigers, he was picked for an Australian Uni squad for a tour of NZ, so he’s no mug .
Mike Abbott, the Cornwall coach, ,is a St Helens man who was originally Neil Kelly’s assistant, He got the top job when Kelly quit.
Incidentally. the Cornwall general manager, John Beach, is an Oldham man who has lived in Cornwall for many years and who is well known as a man who has pushed rugby league down there. Ten years ago he was named by the RFL as ‘Volunteer of the year,’
Table-topping Oldham are hot favourites to win, but Cornwall won’t see it like that – and there have been bigger upsets in sport than Cornwall winning at Boundary Park.
That’s what makes sport so unpredictable – and so entertaining,
It starts at 1pm don’t forget,
