KEIGHLEY Albion u-15s finished their pre-season preparation with two final friendlies that saw a defeat to Upton followed up by a win over Drighlington.

Against Upton an indifferent defensive display in the first half saw them 26-0 behind by half-time but they kicked into life in the second half. Led by Ethan Lawrie, Harvey Meek, man of the match Freddie Seavers and Nico Mori, Albion kept Upton scoreless in the second period.

They also turned defence into attack and were rewarded with tries from Leon Hobson and Meek to make the final score 26-8.

In their final friendly, Albion ran out 30-4 winners at Drighlington. In a scrappy first period too many dropped balls from Keighley meant scoring opportunities were limited.

However, the impressive Jack Croft and Bobby Darbyshire touched down and, with a Harry Normington conversion, held a ten-point lead at half-time. Albion were always in control and a much tighter display saw the errors reduce as they added four further tries.

Croft and Darbyshire each got their second, with Nico DeVittoris also finishing well in the corner. Darbyshire tagged on two of the conversions before Meek ghosted his way through for Albion’s final try.

Darbyshire, Croft and newcomer Matthew Ryan were Albion’s pick of the bunch.

Keighley Albion u-12s 20 Birkenshaw u-12s 12

A fine second-half effort enabled Albion to overturn a 12-point half-time deficit in a friendly against Birkenshaw, who they will meet again in the second division of the Yorkshire Junior League this season.

Albion’s first-half star performer Billy Lee, in only his second start, blasted through a number of tackles only to be held up over the line by fine defence.

Then Birkenshaw ripped them apart, posting three unconverted scores with Albion’s poor line speed in defence and disorganised attack helping no end.

However, in the second half Keighley unloaded their bench and the impact was almost instant.

After some great metres, Reece Smollen’s beautifully floated pass sent Riley Corby flying down the touchline to score. From the restart Albion were in immediately when the ball was shipped into midfield and Olly MacNab’s sublime show and go saw him outpace the cover to score a great try.

There was no let-up as more punishing running and offloading gave Ben McParland the opportunity to charge over, leaving MacNab to convert and put Albion in front.

Albion’s domination continued as Josh Dickerson went over with a smart snipe from acting half, his conversion completing the scoring.

Keighley Albion u-9s 32 Chorley Panthers u-9s 12

Albion won the battle of the Roses as they beat their Lancashire counterparts in a entertaining game. Albion struck early through Aaron Horner and Alfie McGrace, Chorley responding with a well-taken try. Horner collected his second and a try from captain Thomas Procter gave Albion a 16-4 lead. Chorley replied with a try but this only sprung Albion into attack, with Ellis Thackrah scoring a jinking try and McGrace storming over to put Albion in control. Hamza Butt was superb in defence, as was the whole Albion team.

Chorley scored their final try, only for Horner to complete his hat-trick and Ben Horsfield cross for Albion's final score.

Silsden Storm u-11s 4 Siddal u-11s 44

This friendly was set for one purpose only and that was to test the Cobbydalers against one of the top sides.

The scoreline didn't reflect the hard work put in by Storm but Siddal were just too fast and smart. In parts, Storm really made the visitors work hard for their win and they battled until the final whistle. This has now given Silsden a benchmark to work towards.

This week the season gets underway with a long journey to Heworth.

Try scorer for Silsden was Joe Beck. Awards went to: Man of match – Ellis Sands; top tackler – Jake Bartlam; player of the week – Jack Stephenson; supporters player – Ellis Sands; magic moment – Joe Beck.