Championship Round-up 23 – Whitehaven shock Featherstone
On Saturday night, Whitehaven produced one of the shocks of the season as they overcame Featherstone Rovers 29-0 at the Big Fellas Stadium.
Dion Aiye notched a pair of tries as Haven ended the regular season on a high.
Rovers’ hopes of reaching the Middle Eight were ended last week by defeat to Sheffield Eagles, and further tries from Chris Taylor, Scott McAvoy and Jordan Burns ensured the Cumbrian outfit eased to victory.
The departing Louis Jouffret, who returns to Catalans this week following a fruitful loan spell, added four goals for Haven with Grant Gore tagging on a last minute drop goal to add insult to injury.
On Sunday, the shocks continued as Halifax snatched a famous victory over Bradford Bulls in front of a 4,589-strong crowd at The Shay.
The scores were locked at 16-16 with three minutes left on the clock, but Fax centre Steve Tyrer scooped up a loose ball on half way and raced in to score by the posts and seal a 20-16 win, their ninth in a row.
Halifax had led 14-0 at half-time thanks to tries from Mitch Cahalane and Ben Heaton, but the Bulls roared back to take the lead through tries from Jay Pitts, Adam Henry and Omari Caro, but it wasn’t enough for James Lowes’ men to end Fax’s remarkable run.
In a good week for Cumbria, Workington Town sent out a warning to their Championship Shield rivals with a comfortable 30-6 win over Hunslet Hawks at the South Leeds Stadium.
Jarrod Sammut, Elliot Miller, Brett Carter, Carl Forber and Jack Murphy scored tries for Phil Veivers’ side, with Sammut and Forber sharing the kicking duties.
Liam Mackay scored the hosts’ only try, goaled by Simon Brown, as Barry Eaton‘s men end the season with a tenth-straight defeat.
In the south, Sheffield Eagles clung on to third place in the league courtesy of a 22-14 win over London Broncos at The Hive.
The Eagles trailed 6-0 at half time but improved after the break, with Ryan Millar scoring two tries. Menzie Yere and Eddie Battye also touched down for the South Yorkshire side as Pat Walker kicked three goals to see Mark Aston’s men over the line.
Wes Naiqama and former Eagles man Matt Garside scored tries for the Londoners, with Naiqama kicking three goals as the Broncos slip to seventh in the table.
Elsewhere, Dewsbury Rams scored three tries to two against Batley Bulldogs but still came short in the Heavy Woollen derby as they lost out 16-12 at the Tetley’s Stadium.
In wet conditions, Scott Leatherbarrow‘s four goals were crucial for the visitors.
Dalton Grant got over twice for the hosts alongside a score from Dale Morton, but tries from Alex Brown and Chris Ulugia formed Batley’s response as Leatherbarrow’s eight-point haul saw the visitors home.
Finally, Leigh Centurions were presented with the Kingstone Press Championship League Leaders’ Shield after completing their regular season with a 66-10 rout of Doncaster in a bottom-against-top clash at the Leigh Sports Village.
Winger Liam Kay, the league’s leading tryscorer, touched down five times, while Greg McNally got two with other tries coming from Adam Higson, Ryan Brierley, Gareth Hock, Ben Reynolds and Martyn Ridyard, who also kicked nine goals for a personal haul of 22 points.
Liam Welham and Peter Fox scored tries for a well-beaten Doncaster side who look set to play next year in League One.