NEWCASTLE THUNDER 10 DEWSBURY RAMS 64
SEBASTIAN STERNIK, Crow Trees, Sunday
DEWSBURY secured their biggest win of the season after running eleven tries past bottom-of-the-table Newcastle.
Eight Rams players stamped their names on the scoresheet, as the team picked up successive league victories for the first time since March.
For Newcastle, the defeat marked their 41st straight loss across all competitions – a run of defeats which first started in 2023.
Despite the disheartening stat, however, Thunder showed encouraging signs and even bagged a couple of rare tries to the delight of the home crowd.
It took Dewsbury just ten minutes to open the scoring, with Thomas Delaney crashing over in the corner. The visitors worked the ball out wide through Jacob Hookem, Keenen Tomlinson and Caelum Jordan before unleashing Delaney over the line.
Another ten minutes ticked by before the Rams made their second breakthrough – this time through Declan Tomlinson. The loose forward proved too strong for Thunder’s defence as he powered under the posts to extend Dewsbury’s lead.
Thunder, who have suffered heavy defeats throughout the season, were able to keep the score relatively tight in the opening half-hour. Unfortunately for the hosts, their defensive solidity did not last long.
Minutes before the interval, Dewsbury turned a 10-point lead into 28, as Jack McShane’s brace, coupled with a Jackson Walker effort, created serious distance between the two teams on the scoreboard.
And Dewsbury picked up from where they left off in the second half as Louis Collinson touched down under the posts to make it 34-0 in the 44th minute.
The points kept on coming as the Rams punished a Newcastle knock-on with a Keenen Tomlinson try in the 50th minute. Dewsbury, who moved 40-0 ahead after Jacob Hookem’s conversion, appeared comfortable with the lead and began to take their foot off the gas.
As the Rams began to wind down, Thunder sprang into action and soon gave a success-starved home crowd a reason to cheer. Leo Bradley powered down the right wing for Newcastle and produced a superb offload to Alex Donaghy, who crossed the line for an impressive try.
The try scorer missed his conversion, but just seven minutes later Donaghy was back in the thick of the action as he burst through Dewsbury’s line to set up Tyler Walton for Newcastle’s second of the game.
Donaghy converted to make it 40-10 and could have caused more damage just moments later as Newcastle made another break. Unfortunately for the fullback, the ball escaped his grip just as he was about to surge towards Dewsbury’s tryline.
While Newcastle were always unlikely to stage a comeback, Dewsbury were determined to react, which they certainly did in the final 10 minutes.
Keenen Tomlinson was first to strike as he capitalised on a defensive error from Newcastle before completing his brace.
A couple of minutes later, George Senior stamped his name on the scoresheet after gathering Jack McShane’s kick and finding his way over.
Delaney and Joe Summers bagged two more efforts in the final minutes to secure a big win for the promotion chasing Rams.
GAMESTAR: Jacob Hookem not only added a big portion of the points to the scoreboard, but also had his fingerprints on a lot of Dewsbury’s tries
GAMEBREAKER: Dewsbury’s run of three tries in the final few minutes of the first half took the game away from Thunder.
MATCHFACTS
THUNDER
1 Alex Donaghy
2 Brad Ward
3 Evan Lawther
5 Sean Croston
4 Daniel Sarbah
6 Elliot Shaw
7 Charlie Yeomans
8 Woody Walker
9 Tom Siddle
15 David Weetman
11 Alex Taylor
12 Jacob Gannon
13 Tyler Walton
Subs (all used)
14 Will Lintin
18 Harry Price
16 Toby Gibson
17 Leo Bradley
Tries: Donaghy (57), Walton (65)
Goals: Donaghy 1/2
RAMS
30 Craig McShane
27 Thomas Delaney
3 Caelum Jordan
4 George Senior
25 Louie Walker
6 Dan Coates
7 Jacob Hookem
11 Joe Summers
31 Jack McShane
19 Jack Briggs
15 Keenen Tomlinson
12 Matt Garside
13 Dec Tomlinson
Subs (all used)
26 Paul Sykes
36 Jamie Gill
8 Jackson Walker
16 Louis Collinson
Tries: Delaney (10, 75), D Tomlinson (19), J McShane (29, 36), Walker (33), Collinson (44), K Tomlinson (50, 70), Senior (72), Summers (78)
Goals: Hookem 6/7, Sykes 4/4
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-4, 0-10, 0-16, 0-22, 0-28; 0-34, 0-40, 4-40, 10-40, 10-46, 10-52, 10-58, 10-64
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Thunder: Alex Donaghy; Rams: Jacob Hookem
Penalty count: 4-3
Half-time: 0-28
Referee: Carl Hughes