The 2018 National Conference League season is underway and - after the weather delayed kick off last weekend - it's the first round of matches in the Premier Division on Saturday....
Premier Division | Rochdale Mayfield v Egremont Rangers
Saturday, March 10
5pm
Mayfield Sports Centre, Rochdale
LIVE on Freesports from 4.45pm
Broadcast live on Freesports, Egremont will make the 124-mile trip to Rochdale for a 5pm kick off at the Mayfield Sports Centre.
In the two games where both sides met last season, Rochdale came out on top on both occasions, as they won 14-29 at Egremont in July.
In the reverse fixture, Rangers were left alarmed as they lost 30-0. The final table standings reflected the two results, as Rochdale finished 4th and above Rangers who ended the campaign 7th in the league.
THIS SATURDAY@Mayfieldrl take on @EgremontR in the first @OfficialNCL live game on @FreeSportsUK@briers6 & @paulwood_RL16 join @alexsimmonstv with commentary from @TheTrevorHunt & Mick Morgan!
— Rugby AM 📺 (@RugbyAM) March 8, 2018
Tune in LIVE at 4.45pm on Sky channel 424 & Freeview 95#TheDreamStartsHere pic.twitter.com/qM7ellmBBF
Division 1 | Leigh Miners Rangers v Pilkington Recs
Saturday, March 10
2.30pm
Twist Lane, Leigh
The highlight game of the opening round of fixtures in Division 1 is Leigh Miners Rangers v Pilkington Recs. This one kicks off at 2:30pm on Saturday at Twist Lane. Both sides were relegated down to Division 1 from the Premier Division last year after disappointing seasons. Leigh finished bottom with just three wins to their name while Pilkington ended the season with 12 points. Both teams will be looking for promotion this season and Leigh will be looking for revenge after Pilkington beat the Miners Rangers on both occasions when the side’s met last year.
The @OfficialNCL season starts here! pic.twitter.com/9gVpwRUJOa
— Leigh Miners Rangers RL (@leighminersrl) March 7, 2018
Division 2 | Stanningley v Dewsbury Moor Maroons
Saturday, March 10
2.30pm
Arthur Miller Stadium, Leeds
In Division two, a West Yorkshire derby tops the bill as Dewsbury Moor make the short trip to Stanningley.
Stan made a winning start to their first campsign back in Division two after promotion last year, a last-minute score sealing a 14-12 win at Leigh East.
But they will be in for another big test this week as fellow promoted side Moor look to get their 2018 off to a winning start.
Division 3 | Barrow Island v Gateshead Storm
Saturday, March 10
2.30pm
Rating Lane, Barrow-in-Furness
The final preview game for the weekend comes from Division three as Barrow Island host Gateshead Storm.
Barrow have already played their first match this season but they fell to a 30-0 defeat at the hands of Beverley in February.
FINALLY our @OfficialNCL season starts on Saturday against Barrow Island. Here are the rest of the fixtures for the month of March. #upthestorm pic.twitter.com/j9NlFHjqXp
— Gateshead Storm CRL (@GatesheadStorm) March 7, 2018
This will be Gateshead's first encounter of the season and they will be looking to get off to a perfect start while Barrow will hunt an improvement from their opening day defeat.
It's an eagerly anticipated match - when the sides met last season, there was one narrow away win each as Gateshead won 22-24 at Barrow, while Island ran out 30-34 winners at the Storm.
