Trio facing threat of relegation
THE opening fixtures of the Kingstone Press Championship Shield went largely to form – which was not good news for the three north west sides battling for second-tier survival.
Bottom club Bradford were defeated at home to Toulouse, meaning they cannot escape the two relegation spots, but SWINTON, OLDHAM and ROCHDALE look set for a three-way battle to avoid the other trapdoor to League One.
The Lions travelled to Batley in their second fixture under Stuart Littler, but were comprehensively beaten by the Bulldogs, despite a strong start.
Shaun Robinson opened the scoring for Swinton inside the first two minutes, but Ben Austin’s try – which levelled the game at 10-10 – was the Lions’ last points in a 62-10 defeat. It leaves Swinton club one point above Oldham in the second relegation spot and behind Rochdale in sixth.
Roughyeds started slowly in each half on their way to a 56-16 loss against Sheffield. The Eagles had already raced into a 22-0 lead when young hooker Matty Wilkinson got Oldham off the mark when he crashed over from dummy half, before halfback Dave Hewitt did similar soon after to leave the visitors trailing by 12.
However, a late Kenny Hughes try was all Roughyeds could muster in response to Sheffield’s six second-half scores.
Rochdale scored in each half through Jono Smith and Chris Riley, but they could not prevent Dewsbury Rams crossing 11 times in a 56-8 victory. three