Head coach John Duffy singled out Jordan James for praise in the 36-28 win but his whole team gelled well to secure a spot in May’s cup final.
He said: “They caused us a lot of problems especially in the early stages when we panicked trying to score on every set and put too much ball down.
“We got our game together and I’m hugely proud for the boys after that performance.”
The Lions were on the attack straight from the kick off with Atkin breaking up the right only to be brought down ten metres short of the line.
But it was Thunder who took the lead on six minutes when Jordan Meads charged down a kick to collect it and race away, scoring by the posts with Matt Beharrell adding the simple conversion.
The Lions pulled one back when Stuart Littler intercepted near his own line and Shaun Robinson got them into a position for Jordan James to break the Thunder defence from 15 metres, scoring under the posts with Atkin adding the conversion.
Honours remained fairly even, with Stanley Gene’s Newcastle side acquitting themselves well to keep up a fast pace, but attrition would tell against them in the end.
Atkin added the Lions’ second try on 17 minutes when he again made a break and was supported by Rob Lever who was tackled just short of the line but Atkin went over from the play the ball and added the conversion from in front.
Thunder would not lie down though, and forced the Lions into a handling error which saw Louis Sheriff score on the left but the conversion was missed.
Swinton increased their lead on 26 minutes when Jimmy Rowland sent up a bomb kick towards the Thunder posts, which bounced straight into Darren Hawkyard’s arms and he scored to the left of the posts.
Meads scored Thunder’s third try after a chip over the defence by Beharrell and the provider also added the conversion to level the scores.
Atkin kicked a penalty goal to put the Lions back ahead two minutes before the break when Mark Mexico was caught offside, and the home side increased their lead again on 49 minutes.
Matt Gardner on his debut went over from a Rowland pass and Atkin converted and then the Lions full back added his second try three minutes later when Ben White broke free to send out the final pass for him to score and again add the conversion to give the home side some daylight on the scoreboard.
Thunder would not lie down and they had two good chances down the left but the final pass on both occasions went to ground but finally Charlie Wabo found a gap to score under the posts and Beharrell converted.
The Lions had more pressure on the Thunder line but good defence held them out and they were rewarded for their efforts when Jason Tali made a break to send Meads away to score in the right corner and Beharrell landed a super conversion from the touchline to bring them within two points on the scoreboard.
From the restart the Lions lost the ball and Thunder went on the attack again but spoilt it all when they were penalised for obstruction.
Things were now getting very tense for both sides as the clock was ticking down but it was the Lions who made the game safe with about thirty seconds left when Andy Ackers send the Thunder defence the wrong way to score under the posts and Atkin added the conversion as the final hooter sounded.
While Thunder’s coach Stanley Gene was delighted with his northern army’s performance, he recognised Swinton as “a class side [who] have been playing at a higher level than us for the last couple of seasons”.
On this showing Swinton’s Proud to be Blue campaign is off to a stellar start.
May 23 beckons for the iPro Sport Cup final in Blackpool.
