Championship Shield Round One Review
London Broncos got their Championship Shield campaign off to the perfect start as they demolished Doncaster 52-12 at The Hive on Saturday night.
Former Bradford Bulls back Elliot Kear ran the show with a hat-trick as the former Super League side all-but condemned their visitors to relegation.
Ben Hellewell, Jason Walton, Wes Naiqama, Rhys Williams, Jonathan Walker and William Barthau were the other tryscorers for London, who sit third in the table.
Peter Fox and Mike Emmett crossed for a Doncaster side who remain rock-bottom of the division after just one win from 24 matches.
Elsewhere, Featherstone Rovers gained immediate revenge over Whitehaven with a 42-30 victory at the Big Fellas Stadium.
Rovers finished fifth in the regular season but were embarrassed 29-0 at home by 10th-placed Whitehaven in the final regular fixture two weeks ago.
They had to come from behind but, in the end, outscored their opponents seven tries to five to claim the victory.
Seven different players got on the scoresheet for the hosts with Alex Foster, Jordan Baldwinson, Gareth Moore, Will Sharp, Jamie Cording, Kyran Johnson and Matt James crossing, Paul Sykes adding four goals.
For Whitehaven, Ted Chapelhow scored two tries while the other three were notched by Grant Gore, Chris Taylor and Ed Chamberlain, who converted all five kicks, but it wasn’t enough as Haven got off to a losing start.
Also in West Yorkshire, Shane Grady scored two tries on his return from injury as Dewsbury Rams kept pace with league leaders Featherstone courtesy of a 32-20 home win over Hunslet Hawks.
Dale Morton, Scott Hale, Ryan Fieldhouse and Dalton Grant scored Dewsbury’s other tries as they enjoyed steady success in their Super 8s opener.
Jack Lee crossed twice for the Hawks either side of half time with Danny Maun adding a late third for Hunslet, who remain second from bottom after suffering their 11th-successive defeat.
Finally, in Cumbria, Workington Town scored twice in the final eight minutes to see off the threat of Batley Bulldogs in a 30-12 victory at the Zebra Claim Stadium.
Late scores from Callum Phillips and Elliott Miller finally sealed the points after Jarrod Sammut, who kicked two goals, opened the scoring in the 20th minute before Jarrad Stack, Jack Murphy and Kurt Horton crossed for the hosts.
Batley’s two tries came either side of half-time from Chris Ulugia and Sean Hesketh, with Scott Leatherbarrow adding the extras on both occasions.