Congratulations to the North West Tigers U16s who competed in the Inter-Regional Championships last weekend on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 June.The North West competed in Division 1 made up of North West Tigers, North East Steelers, London Sharks, East and South West Sharks.
Full results can be found here.
Seb Long the Lead coach for the boys team had this to say.
When reviewing this past weekend’s North West performance, it took me back to the first year I assisted coaching the U16s in 2024. I realised how much the competition has shifted and changed through the years. We came 3rd in 2024, 1st in 2025, and repeated that feat again in 2026 — undeniably the most challenging one of them yet.
The weekend started with three games on Saturday and one on Sunday.
Game 1: North East Steelers (Won 9-7)
We started off against our Northern brothers, the North East Steelers. Reliving our U14 IR final in 2024, where they beat us in the group stage before we narrowly beat them in the final (4-3), this game was no different. It was neck-and-neck throughout, with our captain Ethan Mellor pulling off some creative goals alongside Mateo Sprott and Yash Chauhan. We stopped the big shooters, Freddie (North East MVP) and CF Harry, to claim the victory 9-7.
Game 2: South West Sharks (Won 12-9)
Next up were the South West Sharks, who had just come off a loss to London. With revitalised spirit, they gave us a tough first quarter. We started pulling away in the second and third when disaster struck — not just our GK, but the GK of the tournament, Caelen Mattewson, picked up a cramp injury that ruled him out for the fourth quarter. Our CB, Alex Pinto Palin, stepped in to cover the spot and produced some incredible saves to keep us in the lead. The Sharks smelled blood when we missed a penalty in the fourth, and they mounted a real comeback — but the boys stayed steady to finish the game 12-9.
Game 3: London (Lost 12-11)
Bodies were starting to ache, and the strain of the tough start was showing. We needed our youngsters to step up — and they did, in an intense match against Sean’s London side, a region we have plenty of history with.
Alex stayed in goal as Caelen recovered, and we went down 4-8 at half time, feeling dejected. But the boys’ fighting spirit in the third quarter led by our work horse in CF, Luca Marsden, showed we weren’t going anywhere without a fight, closing the deficit by three goals heading into the final quarter. Then one of our youngest player’s, Monty Milton, stepped up massively to score a crucial goal and put us in the lead for the first time in the game — 10-9 with only minutes to spare.
Unfortunately, a few mistakes saw us reduced down a player, giving London an opening they duly took. In the final 50 seconds, with the score locked at 11-11, London’s assistant coach called a timeout on a man-up situation. Despite valiant defending, an incredible shot from 7 metres found the top corner with just one second left on the shot clock, handing London the lead.
The boys were shattered but not out — 30 seconds left, one timeout, one shot. The fairy-tale comeback wasn’t to be, though, as London’s defence held firm to close out the game 12-11.
Game 4: East (Won 9-8)
