Ending poor run leaves Kilshaw elated
ROCHDALE Hornets head coach Alan Kilshaw was overcome with delight after his side’s impressive 28-14 victory against Bradford Bulls on Sunday.
Hornets ended a run of back to back defeats by coming out on top against Bulls at the Crown Oil Arena.
Kilshaw was extremely happy with his players, and heaped praise on them for putting in a good performance.
“I’m really proud of the effort, especially as I thought we had a lot of challenges to overcome in the game,” he said.
“Bradford were given a lot of opportunities with the ball and I think the penalty count was 9-3 to them, so we had to deal with that.
“There was a period where they scored back to back tries so it meant there were a few momentum swings in the game, and coming in at half-time we knew Bradford were going to start well.
“We dealt with it though so that is a credit to the fitness of our players for getting us through it, as we defended a lot of sets in our half.
“There were a lot of positives in there. Lewis Foster had a good first game for us and the younger lads from Warrington did well too, so all in all I’m delighted.”
Kilshaw also felt that some of the Bradford team were made to pay for comments they had previously made about Hornets.
“I was disappointed with some comments from some of their players as they said the only reason we beat them last time was because it was snowing,” he said.
“Maybe it was a bit of arrogance or immaturity. We thought they would learn their lesson but they didn’t, and that played into our hands as they did the team talk for me and our players were even more motivated to win.”
The victory over Bradford on Sunday means that Hornets have now done the double over their Yorkshire rivals, following a 22-14 win back in February.
With that in mind, Kilshaw believes his team has done very well to come out on top on two occasions against Bradford this season.
“It’s great. They’re former world champions and have had a bit of a fall from grace recently but when you get the fixtures at the start of the season you still don’t count on beating Bradford home and away,” he said.
“They’re still a full time side so this is a shot in the arm for us, and hopefully we can kick on now.”
The victory leaves Rochdale eighth in the Kingstone Press Championship table, and Kilshaw wants to try and build on the latest triumph.
“We’re a few points clear of Oldham before their game on Wednesday, but we’ve now got games coming up against teams in and around us in the table,” he said.
“Our main goal is getting enough points to stay in the league but we obviously are aiming to finish as high as possible.”
Next up for Hornets is a home game against Batley Bulldogs next Sunday. Published by MEN Media, Mitchell Henry House, Hollinwood Avenue, Chadderton, OL9 8EF. Printed by Mirror Colour Printers (Oldham) Ltd, Hollinwood Avenue, Chadderton, Oldham OL9 8EB