Daunting trip for Kilshaw’s depleted side

ROCHDALE Hornets return to action tomorrow as they travel to Hull Kingston Rovers to take on the leaders of the Kingstone Press Championship.

The game will mark the beginning of the second half of fixtures in the first phase of the season, and will be the second meeting of the two clubs this campaign.

Last time out the Hornets were left to rue their missed chances as they passed up an opportunity to hit the front late-on in the game, before surrendering to a 28-18 defeat.

In front of a new club record attendance of 2,012 the mean in red, white and blue put in a valiant performance but were ultimately left disappointed.

Gary Middlehurst gave the home side the lead early on, before a late flurry in the first period sent KR into the sheds 18-6 up.

Tries from Danny Yates and Samir Tahraoui either side of a Rovers penalty goal put them within two points, and when they were handed a set of six in their opponents half with eight minutes to play a famous victory looked possible.

They couldn’t find a way through though and up the other end of the field Shaun Lunt exposed some tired defence, before Jamie Ellis added a penalty goal on the hooter to round off his side’s win.

Since then Alan Kilshaw’s men have picked up just one win and a draw, with their current run standing at six straight defeats.

The most recent came in heart-breaking fashion as Chris Atkin’s late field-goal sealed a 23-22 victory for local rivals Swinton Lions on Easter Monday.

A week off while the Challenge Cup took centre stage has given the Hornets a chance to freshen up though after a hectic run of three games in eight days, but their opponents weren’t afforded that luxury.

Tim Sheens’ side pulled off a shock win over Super League side Leigh Centurions in the cup to bounce back from their first defeat of the season, as they went down 14-6 away to Toulouse Olympique.

It will be a tough trip for Rochdale to make as they face the league favourites on their own patch, and they won’t be helped by their injury worries.

Jono Smith picked up a knee injury away to Swinton which rules him out, while Jo Taira and Tahraoui will sit the game out due to suspension.

Jordan Hand will be up for selection though as the RFL confirmed his sin binning against his former club was the wrong decision, and there’s an outside chance of Jack Holmes featuring after a foot injury.