LAST year’s Division One champions WATERHEAD WARRIORS announced their bid to make a real impact in their first season in the top flight with a 36-18 opening-day home win over big guns ROCHDALE MAYFIELD.
The visitors began as most observers of the NCL might have expected, Jack Wright crossing in the fifth minute and Jordan Parr converting.
But Waterhead, completely unfazed, took the game to Mayfield to establish a twelve-point lead as the interval approached.
Matthew Holland nipped over on 32 minutes and, practically from the restart, Harry Barker followed suit.
Harrison Dodd continued the blitz, Kegan Brennan adding all three goals, but Mayfield were firmly back in contention at the break, thanks to Parr’s conversion of Mason Riley’s touchdown.
Indeed Mayfield looked likely winners when, shortly after the restart, Ben Metcalfe popped in, Parr restoring parity with his third goal.
Waterhead’s response, however, will put the rest of the section on red alert.
Adam Robinson dotted down on 48 minutes and Brennan scooted through four minutes shy of the hour, adding his fifth conversion to help forge a 30-18 lead. And the Oldham outfit closed in real style with Dodd’s second try and Brennan’s sixth goal.
There was plenty of focus, too, on the meeting of DEWSBURY MOOR MAROONS, who were elevated to the top flight via a promotion play-off final victory over Ince Rose Bridge, and reigning champions HUNSLET ARLFC, who have lost several players to the professional ranks and to retirement.
The sheer resilience that has steered the south Leeds side to successive titles, however, helped see them through a testing contest with a 10-8 triumph.
Dewsbury Moor had much the better of the first half after having gone in front in the second minute, Louie Walker improving his own try.
Walker added a penalty-goal on the half-hour to help give his side an 8-0 interval lead, but the visitors clawed their way back into the contest when elusive winger Tyler Dargan swept in ten minutes after the resumption.
The score went unconverted and that was how it stayed until eight minutes from time, when Matty Scott crashed over for the levelling touchdown and the cool-headed Josh McLelland added the winning conversion from close to the posts.
The third promoted side, LEIGH MINERS RANGERS, lost 36-22 at WEST BOWLING but will derive plenty of satisfaction through having ‘won’ the second half after trailing 20-0 at the break.
Wests, who are determined to avoid last year’s flirtation with relegation, started explosively, with Lewis Taylor crossing in the fifth minute and hat-trick man Logan Simpson following suit seven minutes later.
Taylor grabbed his second try at the opening period’s midway point, and that score was quickly followed by an Elliott Cousins effort and Harry Williams’ second goal.
The Miners opened their account three minutes into the second half, Noah Lancelott crossing, and although Cousins replied for Bowling – Williams improving – the visitors got back to within ten points with tries by the hour for George Maloney and Joe Tyrer, both of which Jonny Youds converted.
Simpson wasn’t minded to allow Leigh Miners back into the issue, however, and effectively sealed his side’s win with tries on 65 and 72 minutes, Williams adding his fourth goal.
And Sam Arrowsmith’s late touchdown, plus Youds’ third goal, was no more than a consolation score for the Miners.
Two sides with real ambitions of featuring in October’s Grand Final met in Cumbria, where WEST HULL beat WATH BROW HORNETS 20-14.
The Green and Golds opened strongly, with Elliott Jones scything through in the 13th minute and Josh Wood dotting down as the match went into the second quarter.
Hornets were limited to a Dean Rooney penalty-goal on the cusp of half-time, while Wests nosed 14 points clear when Josh Oliver sprinted over ten minutes after the restart.
Daniel Burns grabbed the Cumbrians’ first try shortly afterwards, Rooney adding the extras to peg the visitors back to eight points, but a Charlie Beet touchdown on the hour gave West Hull a three-score cushion to protect.
And that was more than enough, despite Jamie Devine darting in for the Brow with 15 minutes left and Greg Rooney improving.
Fancied SIDDAL were pushed very hard by LOCK LANE before registering an 8-6 win.
The Lane, whose cause wasn’t helped by three sinbinnings – all for head-high tackles – went in front in the eighth minute, Connor Jordan nipping in and Nathan Fozzard adding the extras.
Jordan was yellow carded ten minutes later, the hosts’ Sam Walsh crossing in his absence, but the visitors were able to keep the Halifax outfit at bay when Shaun Pick was sinbinned a minute into the second period.
Lock Lane also stood up well while Luke Tagg was temporarily in the dug-out from the 52nd minute, but Siddal couldn’t be repelled forever, and scored the match-clinching try eight minutes from time to help assuage the memory of a similarly low-scoring contest at the beginning of last season, when Hunslet ARLFC had prevailed 6-4 at the same venue.
YORK ACORN, who made a huge impression in the recent Betfred Challenge Cup tie against Super League’s Hull FC, eased to a 22-0 victory over BARLA National Cup holders THATTO HEATH CRUSADERS.
Most of the damage was done in the opening period, when Acorn grabbed three of their four tries.
The first, on ten minutes, went to Jack Byrnes, while Ryan Gallacher sped over at the first half’s midway point.
Joe Porter crashed in as the half-hour beckoned, Nathan Conroy landing his third goal.
Thatto, although unable to get on the scoreboard themselves, limited Acorn to a Matt Chilton touchdown, notched ten minutes after the restart, in the second half.
