HUNSLET HAWKS...42 SWINTON LION...20: THE Lions suffered their first defeat of the season after being beaten by the bigger and stronger Hawks, at the South Leeds Stadium.

It was a scrappy start to the game but Latham Tawhai put Hawks in a good position in the third minute with a 40-20 kick, however, his side knocked on from the resulting scrum win.

Then the Lions hit back two minutes later when a good kick over the tryline by Warren Ayres forced Jon Liddell to be tackled behind the line.

Hooker Joe Hawley sent Liddell through a huge gap with the tryline open, but the pass was adjudged forward.

But the Hawks did take the lead in the 12th minute, when Andy Bastow crossed under the posts and Danny Wood converted.

The Lions tried to hit back straight away when English broke up the right wing, but the ball was lost ten metres from the line and the chance went begging.

Hawks increased their lead midway through the half when Hawley sent Wayne Freeman over and Wood again converted, but the Lions hit back with their opening try in the 26th minute.

Good play by Wingfield, Stazicker and Cannon saw Ian Sinfield race in at the corner, but Ayres could not convert from the difficult angle.

The home side then had the final say of the first half when Wood added a penalty goal seven minutes from the break.

The Lions had to score first in the second half to make a game of it but it didn't go that way, as Tawhai put in a great high kick for the corner which looped over Hugh Thorpe and George Rayner raced in to score, but Wood missed the conversion.

The next Hawks' try came in the 54th minute, when Neil Mears went in under the posts and Wood again converted to give the home side a 20 point advantage.

Thorpe made up for his error on the hour when he crossed for a try in the corner and Ayres added the difficult conversion.

This was quickly followed by another Lions' try when Ayres kicked a huge 40/20 and from the resulting scrum Wayne English raced in on the left, with Ayres again converting from the touchline to put the Lions within eight points of the Hawks.

But again the home side cut loose, running in three more tries in quick succession with Raynor crossing twice to complete his hat-trick and Tawhai getting a deserved try seven minutes from time, with Wood converting all three.

The Lions got the final try of the match in the last minute, when Chris Irwin raced in at the corner following a penalty to the Lions in the Hawks' twenty, but Ayres could not convert, and in any case the Lions had already lost the game.

LIONS : English, Thorpe, Bolton, Cushion, Roach, Hodson, Ayres, Loughlin, Cannon, Whittaker, Stazicker, Smith, Sinfield. Subs (all used) Irwin, Barraclough, Kilshaw and Wingfield.