TIPS from the top were passed on to junior players from Malton and Norton RUFC during a coaching session at Leeds Carnegie.

Malton and Norton's Under-9s side received pointers from Carnegie's professional players during a visit to the Guinness Premiership club's state-of-the-art training base at Kirkstall.

After the session, the youngsters saw their heroes in action first hand, as they visited Headingley Carnegie stadium for the top flight game between Leeds and Sale Sharks, pictured inset.

Sale fielded international stars Mark Cueto, Andrew Sheridan and Sebastien Chabal.

The Malton youngsters put their coaching to good use in the opening games of their 2008 fixture programme.

The U9s Tigers were 7-0 winners over Hull Ionians B', and they then beat Hull Ionians A' 4-3.

Malton reaped the benefits of team work, passing the ball out and driving to gain ground, to create a host of opportunities.

Good understanding between Harry Butler and Tom Pycock, including a memorable slip pass, resulted in hat-tricks for both players.

Other try scorers were man of the match Jonnie Bayes, Tyrone Fenwick, Jake Newsome, James Walker and Josh Wainwright, who made an impressive debut.

Pushed into touch in the corner, Josh Greaves narrowly missed out on a try following an aggressive forward run.

The team's fighting spirit was embodied by Joe Fitzgerald, who continued to surge into Ionian territory in spite of being denied a score on the line.