ACADEMY END LION CUBS’ RUN

EDINBURGH completed a strong finish to the WSRA NDL season by inflicting the first defeat of 2024 over champions Leicester on Saturday.

The Lion Cubs were looking to complete a perfect campaign of ten wins out of ten, but they were edged out at the final hurdle at Armadale as the Monarchs Academy won 47-42.

The match went to a last-heat decider after the visitors pulled back from eleven points down, and they would have snatched victory with a 5-1, but Dayle Wood and Connor Coles clinched it for the home side with a 4-2.

Wood top-scored with 14 and Max Perry collected 9+1 against his old club, whilst Max James and Joe Thompson both scored 11 for the Lion Cubs.

Stand-in Edinburgh boss Mitchell Davey said: “Sensational effort, all the boys were up for it, obviously they knew Leicester were coming and were undefeated and already crowned league champions, so they really just wanted to put their stamp on it to show that they were a competitive team.

“They all worked really well together, it was awesome. It was a little bit stressful at first but it came good once we got a lead. It was good.”

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Photo credit: JACK CUPIDO