There were a majority of home wins across the board in Round 14 of the Betfred Championship.
On Friday, it was a confident victory for second-placed Sheffield, who nilled Halifax on their home patch. The Eagles made it four wins on the spin with five tries on match-day, including a brace from Ben Jones-Bishop.
Toulouse v Bradford showcased a brutal affair at Stade Ernest-Wallon at the weekend, which ended in a deserved draw. It was huge effort in the south of France from the Bulls outfit, who led 6-12 at the break with tries from Zac Fulton and Max Lehmann.
Reuben Rennie had initially opened the scores for the French side, who later went on to level with their opponents - Paul Ulberg crossing in the corner.
Then, on Sunday, Dewsbury and Doncaster went head-to-head in a nail-biting battle at the FLAIR Stadium.
It was a scrappy first forty, but Dewsbury took an impressive 14-4 lead through tries from Bailey O’Connor and veteran Paul Sykes, as well as a penalty goal.
The Dons responded immediately after the break with Pauli Pauli crashing his way over, before assisting with Josh Guzdek's try - and a superb second half showing allowed the visitors to clinch the win and go back-to-back.
Doncaster now move to within one point of sixth spot as the race for the Play-Offs intensifies.
At the DIY Kitchens Stadium, Wakefield remained unbeaten with another victory over Batley this year.
Derrell Olpherts kept up his scoring streak for Trinity and was over on the seventh minute for the first points of the game.
But the Bulldogs put up a tremendous fight and hit back with Dale Morton touching down in the corner and Brandon Moore fooling his defenders from dummy half to bustle his way over - Batley leading 6-12 at the break.
And there had been plenty more opportunities for Mark Moxon’s men, but they couldn’t quite make the pressure pay and convert their possession into points.
Trinity then capitalised on theirs in the second half, showing their strength especially in final 20 minutes. Caleb Uele levelled the scores as his steamrollered his way to the try-line, before Oli Pratt's length of the field effort edged the hosts in front.
Tries from Trinity's Liam Kay, Olpherts and Josh Griffin then rounded off the win.
Meanwhile, Featherstone and York recorded huge home wins over their opponents in Round 14.
There was a 66-0 rout of Whitehaven, as the Rovers ran in eleven tries and returned to winning ways in emphatic fashion.
Similarly, York Knights continued their resurgence under new head coach Mark Applegarth and racked up 54 points at the LNER Community Stadium against Barrow.
It was York's biggest win of the season, and they got off to a blistering start with three tries in the opening quarter - Joe Brown bagging a double and Sam Cook scoring his first in Knights colours.
Jarrad Stack did get Barrow on the scoreboard but that did little to halt York’s momentum as Brad Ward, Connor Bailey and Jack Teanby went over before half-time.
The Knights remained in the hunt for points during the second half as Oli Field crossed the whitewash, Liam Harris registered a brace and Nikau Williams rounded off the ten-try display, with Andrew Bulman’s late score the only Raiders consolation.
Finally, Swinton came from behind to take away the spoils in their derby game against Widnes, who were consigned to a fourth consecutive defeat.
Betfred Championship Round 14 results:
Toulouse Olympique 12 Bradford Bulls 12
Sheffield Eagles 28 Halifax Panthers 0
Dewsbury Rams 16 Doncaster RLFC 20
Wakefield Trinity 34 Batley Bulldogs 12
Featherstone Rovers 66 Whitehaven RLFC 0
York Knights 54 Barrow Raiders 12
Swinton Lions 24 Widnes Vikings 12
The full fixture list for the Betfred Championship and all of the relevant information and kick-off times can be found here.
Photo Credit: Doncaster RLFC
