SWINTON'S young guns are helping the Lions round off the Rugby League season in style.

A crippling injury list has left Swinton coach Mike Gregory with 16 of his first and second team players on the sidelines - but the youngsters are more than filling the gaps.

Last Sunday's 33-14 win at Barrow was due, in no small part, to the kids' efforts and chief executive Tony Barrow has praised them to the hilt.

"We have brought in the likes of right winger Mick Nanyn, who only turned 17 in June, when we still should have been bringing him through gradually," said Barrow.

"But Mick and the others such as Damian Cleary, Paul Smith, Ryan Stazicker, Matt Bateman and Phil Cushion have done a great job."

The Lions entertain championship-chasing Widnes at Gigg Lane on Sunday (August 22), kick-off 3pm, and they will almost certainly be without second row forward Richie Eyres.

Eyres is on loan at Swinton from Widnes and the Chemics, not surprisingly, won't let him play against them.

Marlon Billy has also been added to the Swinton injury list with knee ligament trouble and is doubtful for Sunday, but Barrow, whose loose forward nephew Paul underwent a double hernia operation at Fairfield Hospital in St Helens on Wednesday, reckons the Lions can rock Widnes.

"It's a big game. Widnes are fighting for the place at the top of the league, so we want to be buzzing for it," said Barrow.

"We reckon that if we hit a good day we can beat them. We are playing some good stuff. We had a great win at Barrow and before that we had only lost by three points or less over the previous two or three weeks.

"The way we are playing I really do think we have every chance of turning Widnes over - although they won't think we can!"

Coach Gregory earned some recognition from his efforts from the RL powers-that-be when he was named as coach of the West's team to take on the East in a curtain-raiser before the Grand Final at Old Trafford on September 25.

Gregory will select a squad of 26 from West-based teams in the Northern Ford Premiership on August 31.

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