Round 6 of the Betfred Championship got underway this weekend as Halifax maintained their unbeaten run with a huge win over Hunslet.
‘Fax racked up seven tries against their local rivals which included respective braces from James Saltonstall and Brad Graham, as well as a terrific try from Jack Hansen, who received a perfectly timed offload from Jacob Fairbank to race in under the posts.
Kyle Eastmond’s men now find themselves three points clear at the top of the league table heading into Easter.
On Saturday, Toulouse proved too strong for Sheffield.
The French side opened the scoring in the tenth minute through Mathieu Jussaume – and soon racked up a 6-24 lead heading into halftime – with Jussaume again, Reubenn Rennie and Anthony Marion all on the scoresheet.
It would take Toulouse only six minutes after the restart to put themselves further ahead too, as Ellis Gillam rose high in the air to take the ball, before he used his strength to ground the ball on the last tackle.
Eddie Battye went over to score from close-range shortly after to pull the Eagles back into the game, but the visitors wrapped up victory late on as Rennie went over for his second try of the afternoon.
Also on Saturday, there was late drama in the capital as Batley Bulldogs snatched victory at the death.
It had been a tightly fought contest between the Bulldogs and London Broncos in an "I score-you score affair", with the scores always level for large parts of the game.
Chris Hellec then edged the hosts in front with a successful penalty goal on the 79th minute, but it was Batley won the restart with a short kick-off.
London's defence became as desperate as the Bulldogs' attack - and Josh Woods, who was at the heart of the action in Round 6, drew in numerous defenders before flicking the ball to teammate Joe Burton. Burton managed to offload to Alfie Dean, who in turn, touched down on the hooter to secure a sensational Batley victory.
On Sunday, there was a try fest at Boundary Park with second placed Oldham scoring six tries to Featherstone’s five.
It was an electric encounter from start to finish, with a missed conversion in the closing stages the only thing separating the two sides.
Fev racked up a 12-24 lead before the Roughyeds pulled it back with two tries in six minutes. The scores were then intensely locked in at 24-24 with five minutes remaining when Iain Thornley rose the highest to collect Josh Drinkwater's kick and dot down. Drinkwater successfully converted.
With one minute left on the clock, Josh Hardcastle crossed for the Rovers to set up a nail-biting ending - but Ryan Hampshire was unable to convert for a draw.
The sides will meet again in the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup semi-finals next month, after the draw took place at Boundary Park on Sunday afternoon ahead of their Round 6 meeting.
York Knights continued their revival with a 66-0 rout of Doncaster – in what was their third consecutive league win.
Having lost three first three, the Knights have gone on to win their last three – and eased to victory in Round 6, scoring six tries in a dominant first half performance.
Six more followed in the second half as winger Scott Galeano, who continued to impress, scored a hat-trick.
Finally, Barrow Raiders shocked Widnes Vikings at the DCBL Stadium as they ran six tries past their opponents to climb to fourth in the table.
Betfred Championship Round 6 results:
Hunslet 12 Halifax Panthers 46
Sheffield Eagles 12 Toulouse Olympique 34
London Broncos 14 Batley Bulldogs 16
Oldham 30 Featherstone Rovers 28
York 66 Doncaster 0
Widnes Vikings 12 Barrow Raiders 37
The full fixture list for the Betfred Championship can be found here.
Photo Credit: London Broncos
