Rochdale ride roughshod over sorry Bulls

ROCHDALE stunned Bradford Bulls for the second time this season, picking up their first home win since the opening day of the Championship season in the process.

After an evenly-matched opening, the visitors opened the scoring through James Bentley and soon doubled their lead when Ed Chapelhow crossed.

Hornets hit back through Jo Taira, before a Jordan Lilley penalty extended the Bulls’ advantage.

However, Taira’s second moments before half-time gave the home side all the momentum going into the break.

A superb break from Lewis Galbraith in the opening stages of the second period of the encounter gave Rochdale the lead for the first time, setting Alan Kilshaw’s side well on their way to a much-needed victory.

Danny Yates slotted a penalty just after the hour mark and Hornets demonstrated exceptional work in defence to keep out the bottom-placed Bulls, who for the first time were coached by Geoff Toovey.

When Matthew Hadden touched down just five minutes from time, he sealed a 28-14 victory for the home side.

OLDHAM started strongly at home to Halifax, but couldn’t turn their dominance into points and ultimately paid the price.

Adam Clay and Scott Turner both thought they had scored in the early stages, only to see their scores ruled out and then a quickfire double from the visitors saw Scott Naylor’s side trailing 12-0 at halftime.

Turner got his try just after the break, before Michael award crossed and a Scott Leatherbarrow penalty levelled the scores.

However, that proved to be Roughyeds’ last points as Fax took the game away from the hosts on their way to a 30-12 win at Bower Fold.