ROCHDALE HORNETS 12 BARROW RAIDERS 46
CHARLIE BOYER, Crown Oil Arena, Sunday

EIGHT-TRY Barrow came out on top in a high-scoring affair, extending their winning league sequence to four.

After a scrappy opening few minutes, it was Rochdale who opened the scoring thanks to Jaden Dayes, who broke through a tackle to spin over the line and ensure Max Flanagan had an easy kick in front of the posts.

But the Raiders were soon on the board. A swift passing move to the right-hand side found Luke Broadbent, who produced a flying finish in the corner.

And they had the lead just after the quarter-hour mark thanks to Matty Costello, who crashed his way over the line, with Brad Walker adding the two from the tee.

Straight from the restart, Barrow were in again, Ryan Johnston breaking away before sprinting 60 metres to finish next to the posts, with Walker slotting over the simple conversion.

Joe Bullock added his name to the scoresheet midway through the half, planting the ball down from close range before Walker extended his side’s lead to 22-6 with the kick.

The home side hit back 13 minutes before the break. A quick burst from James Duffy bought Hornets some valuable field position, before an inventive offload from Jordan Paga found Ethan Wood, who finished the job, with Flanagan’s conversion reducing the arrears to ten points.

The scoring didn’t stop there and Barrow were in for their fifth try of the afternoon on 30 minutes, when a low kick towards the in-goal area was pounced on by Ryan King, with Walker converting from bang in front of the sticks.

After a slow start to the second half, Barrow rediscovered their momentum, and a looping ball over the top found Ellis Robson, who sliced through a gap in the Rochdale defence to score before Walker added the extras.

Johnston thought he had his second try just before the hour but after consultation between the match officials, his effort was ruled out for obstruction, before Paul Crarey’s side brought up 40 points as King grabbed his second underneath the posts with Walker again facing no issues from the tee.

On 64 minutes, Alex Bishop darted out from dummy-half to become the last name on the growing try-scorers’ list, with Walker adding two more points.

It was almost 50 for the visitors ten minutes from time. An interception by Shane Toal set him on a run from his own line to halfway, and he found Walker who in turn teed up Broadbent, but the winger strayed into touch to gift possession back to Rochdale. 

Gary Thornton’s side struggled to pose a threat in the second half and rarely troubled the Barrow defence as they fell to a second successive defeat running.

GAMESTAR: Barrow loose-forward Ryan King produced some great play and was influential in almost every move his side had.

GAMEBREAKER: The Raiders’ try by King to help open a 16-point gap after half an hour gave them what turned out to be an unassailable lead.

MATCHFACTS

HORNETS
1 Max Flanagan
2 Dan Nixon
27 James Duffy
4 Junior Sa’u
22 TJ Boyd
7 Jordan Paga
25 Jack Hansen
8 Jaden Dayes
14 George Roby
23 Chris Barratt
24 Ben Metcalfe
12 Ethan Wood
9 Ross Whitmore
Subs (all used)
13 Jordan Syme
19 Luke Waterworth
28 Charlie McKler
36 Isaac Reid

Tries: Dayes (8), Wood (27)
Goals: Flanagan 2/2

RAIDERS
1 Luke Cresswell
2 Luke Broadbent
3 Curtis Teare
4 Shane Toal
25 Tee Ritson
6 Brad Walker
7 Ryan Johnston
10 Joe Bullock
9 Josh Wood
33 Harvey Makin
11 Ellis Robson
12 Matty Costello
13 Ryan King
Subs (all used)
15 Charlie Emslie
16 Greg Richards
17 Alex Bishop
30 Jarrad Stack

Tries: Broadbent (10), Costello (17), Johnston (19), Bullock (23), King (30, 61), Robson (53), Bishop (64)
Goals: B Walker 7/8

SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 6-4, 6-10, 6-16, 6-22, 12-22, 12-28; 12-34, 12-40, 12-46

Rugby Leaguer and League Express Men of the Match
Hornets: Jaden Dayes; Raiders: Ryan King

Penalty count: 6-4
Half-time: 12-28
Referee: Scott Mikalauskas
Attendance: 370