Toulouse and Sheffield recorded mammoth victories in Round 17 of the Betfred Championship, as the battle for second spot reaches its heights.
The French side racked up 58 unanswered points against bottom-placed Dewsbury, while the Eagles returned to winning ways with a 13-try haul over Whitehaven.
Mark Aston’s men ended a two-game losing streak in style, with Matty Dawson-Jones nailing a first half hat-trick and Matty Marsh crossing for four tries.
Batley, Featherstone and York are all tied on 16 league points after this weekend’s results. The Bulldogs missed their chance this weekend to overtake Featherstone into sixth spot after they were defeated by local rivals Halifax – Ed Barber’s try the only difference for 'Fax, in what was an enthralling encounter.
Meanwhile, Featherstone also slipped to seventh and out of the top six for the first time in weeks as they lost out to Wakefield in Round 17 – who bounced back from their Round 16 defeat in Toulouse.
Trinity’s Lachlan Walmsley stole the show with two terrific tries on Sunday afternoon, and despite a score at either side of half-time from the Rovers’ Brad Day and Moris Kamano, the table toppers proved to be too strong.
Mark Applegarth’s Knights then completed the double over Swinton Lions with a strong defensive performance at the LNER Community Stadium. A spell of three tries in eight second half minutes made sure they picked up their eighth win of the season and also moved to within one point of the top six.
And it is Doncaster who claimed sixth spot in Round 17, with the Play-Off race remains tighter than ever, as well as the relegation zone.
The Dons ensured back-to-back wins when they faced Barrow in a high-scoring affair, with two late tries from Joe Lovodua and Buerto Faraimo, and a drop goal from Craig Hall snatching the game for the hosts.
Finally, Widnes were at home to a depleted Bradford side on Sunday. A dominant second half saw the Vikings run in four tries to overturn a 4-6 deficit at the break and move level with their opponents in the Championship table...
Betfred Championship Round 17 results:
Toulouse Olympique 58 Dewsbury Rams 6
Sheffield Eagles 78 Whitehaven RLFC 24
Batley Bulldogs 16 Halifax Panthers 22
Wakefield Trinity 46 Featherstone Rovers 18
York Knights 34 Swinton Lions 4
Doncaster RLFC 37 Barrow Raiders 30
Widnes Vikings 25 Bradford Bulls 6
The full fixture list for the Betfred Championship and all of the relevant information and kick-off times can be found here.
Photo Credit: Wakefield Trinity
