WITH no game for the first team, Bury Broncos A took centre stage with their NWML Division Four clash at Manchester Rangers.

And while they included a number of young players in their squad at the Manchester Regional Arena they were not disgraced in a 32-18 defeat.

It was a much closer game than the scoreline might suggest, with the Broncos very nearly upsetting the Rangers' 12-game winning run.

The visitors opened the scoring in the impressive 6,000-seater stadium when Kieron Marshall dived over in the corner following a great run from Will Spencer.

Rangers were stunned again when good hands from Anthony Crumlish fed Liam Sixsmith, who carried his opposite number over the line to put the Bronco 8-0 up.

The home side were stung into action and ran in two converted tries, capitalising on a number of penalties given against Bury.

Broncos fell further behind at the start of the second half but stemmed the tide with a determined run from Tyler Nolan, who smashed his way through three would-be tacklers to make it 18 -12.

A typical Sean Kelly show-and-go saw him dart over for a try, and the Broncos pulled level when his score was converted by Steve Critchley.

The Rangers finished the stronger, however, and pulled away with a couple of tries in the last 10 minutes.

Kelly, Nolan and Jay Hardman were voted top three players by the opposition though in truth every player made their contribution, including youngsters like Kieron Marshall and Adam Brooks.

Coach Dave Kelly said: "The future of this club looks very promising, and best of all the team spirit shown tonight was fantastic, including the support from the large number of people who came to cheer the team on.

"It made me very proud to be a Bronco."

Broncos A remains seventh in the table, with 11 points from their 15 games.

The Under-9s followed up last weekend's first win of the season with another courageous victory at Leyland Warriors.

The youngsters eventually finished up 9-8 winners after a high-scoring, high octane encounter.

Speed was the key for the Broncos, as they counteracted the stubborn home defence with pace on the wings.

The result could have gone either way as both sides took it in turns to score.

If anyone is looking to join the Bury Broncos juniors teams, they can get in touch with Jean Palin, our Junior Secretary on 07909752865.