West London Sharks U16 28 Medway Dragons U16 24

THEY were without 31 players for their trip to play the reigning champions, but Medway Dragons still got a team out and still gave the Sharks a massive scare.

Seven regular were on Harlequins Rugby League duty in South Wales, seven were on Duke of Edinburgh Scheme duty, six had long term injuries and Bank Holiday commitments took a good number away, too. The squad of 44 was reduced to the minimum number of 13 players and from the start it was clear a siege mentality and attitude was within the players.

The Sharks scored first, capitalising from a mistake, and then doubled their advantage.

It looked ominous, briefly, but when the Dragons shipped the ball right, the remarkable Doug Ebanks extended his record of scoring a try in every game this season. A Sharks error, a powerplay from the Dragons and great hands took Rob Josling over on the right for his first try of 2009 and the scores were all square.

The Sharks, bristling with representative players, had a new respect for the thin red line from Kent.

Unable to make changes the Dragons pack put their bodies on the line repeatedly and massive defensive performances came in from Greg Woodward, Marcus Partou, Andy Taylor, Callum Jordan, Rob Josling and Max Worrell.

Not to be outdone, Kemsley Perry, playing at half back, smashed into the opposition time after time and had to be rested for five minutes before resuming.

Perry had his best game in a Dragons jersey and was justly rewarded with a great try following a classic show and go from 20 metres out.

Perry and Ebanks were working the back line well.

Kishan Muthu was another to deliver his best performance in a Dragons jersey, returning the ball on kick returns with increasing intelligence and penetration.

Two more Ebanks scores and two Partou conversions had the Dragons leading 24 -18 going into the last 10 minutes, but the Sharks rallied again and got over the line twice, converting one for a dramatic last minute score.

The exhausted Dragons piled on the pressure in what would be their last set. Lewis hoisted a high ball on the last and it hung in the air, both sets of players jumped, but the referee adjudged a knock on and blew for full time.

Martin Coyd, Dragons Head Coach said: "It was an honour to be a part of this group. They all went to new levels of courage and endurance and came through. They also played some really smart football having learned from their early mistakes. They should all be very proud."

The team are at Croydon Hurricanes on Sunday.

Feltham Falcons U12 28 Medway Dragons U12 24

FELTHAM were unable to field a full squad, conceded the league match and it was replaced by a full blooded friendly. The Dragons, themselves shy of seven first team players, called in the services of some of the Under-11s.

The contest was a cracker and, like the Under-16s match it was decided in the dying moments.

The Falcons kicked off and Harry Bell and Lewis Richards set-up a 50m dash by Charlie Faux, only being denied a score one metre out by a last ditch tackle.

Tough tackling from Jack Halstead, George Carlin and Charlie Faux forced a turnover deep in Feltham's half, but the Dragons were unable to captitalise.

Feltham crossed the line on 5th tackle and went 12-0 up through a second converted try, but while Medway looked shell-shocked strong runs from offensive captain Connor Naylor, and defensive captain Charlie Faux took the ball to their opponents' 5m line, when Charlie Roberts was harshly penalised for a high hand off.

In one swift interchanging move, though, the ball passed from Faux to Brandon Crane to Mitchell Stone, the ball arriving at Carlin on the overlap. He duly sprinted 50 metres for the first Dragons score.

A penalty gave Feltham the initiative and they racked up another try to lead 16-6 at the interval.

The second half started in the same way, with Medway conceding an early try to leave them 20-6 adrift.

Strong runs from Bell, Lewis Richards and Stone, however, took the wind out of the Falcons sails and Charlie Faux capitalised with a jinking 30 metres run for a score between the sticks.

Connor Naylor took control dived over to make it 20-16 and on the next 5th tackle, Robert Butler powered free and dived in the corner 20-20.

This mammoth effort clearly drained the Dragons, but after a wonderful, flying tackle by Dan O'Brien denied the opposition another try, Faux gave Medway the lead for the first time.

Feltham levelled at 24-24 and with the Dragons flagging the home side took advantage with the winning score.

Brentwood U9 v Medway Dragons U9

THE young Dragons team made their second trip this season to Brentwood. Both squads were heavily depleted due to injuries, people going away for the bank holiday and other commitments and Medway travelled with eight Under-9 players and two from the Under-7s, who wore tag belts for the three 10-minute sessions.

Jack Bloomfield's elusive running brought many tries, Tom Narborough shone with his direct running and ground gained, while Lewis Hollidge not only went in low but also used effective driving tackles.

William and Isaac Milham who both made good ground when given the space to run into out wide and Oliver Faux's strength in the tackle, holding opponents up when they were over his line, was especially impressive.

Fred Ward and Joel Bingo both made good ground in possession and were always looking to offload to support players.