BARROW RAIDERS 12 FEATHERSTONE ROVERS 30
PETER WILSON, Northern Competitions Stadium, Sunday
WEMBLEY-bound Featherstone warmed up for their 1895 Cup final against York on Saturday with a comfortable win in the Cumbrian sunshine.
The damage to below-par Barrow came in a three-try burst either side of the interval – but some gloss was taken off the victory by what looked like a nasty early injury to centre Bailey O’Connor.
It was Rovers who set the early pace without doing any damage and the Raiders who went ahead in the 13th minute, when Tee Ritson managed to turn a half-chance into the game’s first try by touching down wide out. Brad Walker added the conversion.
The lead lasted just eleven minutes however. Nathan Wilde put the finishing touch to a slick handling move when he found the gap to send Jimmy Beckett in to score between the sticks and Ben Reynolds levelled things up with the goal.
On 34 minutes, playmaker-in-chief Reynolds had the stage to himself. Although he needed the luck of the bounce, he was sharp enough to make the most of it. His kick ahead appeared to be well covered by the Barrow defence, but the ball bounced off a post protector and he was backing up to pounce for the try, which he then improved.
Barrow seemed happy enough to hang onto a six-point deficit, but with only seconds left before the break, their usually reliable defence allowed hooker Will Jubb to crash over.
Ryan Hampshire took on kicking duties from Reynolds, who limped away after taking a knock in a tackle, and the goal made it 18-6.
With the advantage of a strong wind in the second half, Barrow must have fancied their chances of mounting a fightback.
But that optimism all but disappeared in the 41st minute, when Brad Day made the most of space in the home defence to move in for Featherstone’s fourth, which Hampshire converted.
The longer the game wore on the more dominant the visitors became and it was no great surprise when they stretched their lead with try number five, this time by Gareth Gale – a fifth different scorer. Hampshire’s third goal took the total to 30 points.
Barrow were restricted to the occasional visit into Featherstone territory. A Jarrad Stack effort was ruled out for a double-movement and Ellis Robson and Ritson took turns in being bundled into touch before a try finally came.
A smart handling move sent Curtis Teare over for Walker to tag on the two, but with only 15 minutes left, it was little more than a token gesture.
GAMESTAR: The arrival of forward King Vuniyayawa from the Featherstone bench gave Rovers added pack power to go with speedier handling among the backs.
GAMEBREAKER: Gareth Gale’s try a minute into the second half knocked Barrow’s hopes of a comeback.
MATCHFACTS
RAIDERS
1 Luke Cresswell
2 Andrew Bulman
4 Luke Broadbent
18 Curtis Teare
30 Tee Ritson
6 Brad Walker
7 Ryan Johnston
10 Ramon Silva
9 Josh Wood
31 Kavan Rothwell
11 Ellis Robson
24 Jarrad Stack
3 Matt Costello
Subs all (used)
22 Alex Bishop
22 James Greenwood
16 Charlie Emslie
15 Tom Wilkinson
Tries: Ritson (13), Teare (65)
Goals: B Walker 2/2
ROVERS
1 Caleb Aekins
2 Derrell Olpherts
24 Bailey O’Connor
29 James Glover
5 Gareth Gale
28 Ryan Hampshire
6 Ben Reynolds
8 Gadwin Springer
9 Will Jubb
10 Jimmy Beckett
11 Brad Day
17 Clay Webb
13 Danny Addy
Subs (all used)
14 Connor Jones
16 King Vuniyayawa
37 Nathan Wilde
26 Jack Arnold
Tries: Beckett (24), Reynolds (34), Jubb (39), Day (41), Gale (51)
Goals: Reynolds 2/2, Hampshire 3/3
SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 6-6, 6-12, 6-18; 6-24, 6-30, 12-30
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Raiders: Jarrad Stack; Rovers: King Vuniyayawa
Penalty count: 9-6
Half-time: 6-18
Referee: Matty Lynn
Attendance: 1,684