There was Friday Night delight for Bradford Bulls in Round 18 of the Betfred Championship, as they saw off an in-form Oldham side.
The Bulls were dominant from the off, leading through two tries from Jayden Okunbor in the opening forty.
Ben O’Keefe replied for the visitors, before Kieran Gill extended the hosts’ advantage, and although Josh Drinkwater managed to muster up another score for the Roughyeds, it was Bradford who would have the final say.
This came from Eribe Doro’s acrobatic effort in the corner which drew the biggest cheers of the night, with Jordan Lilley kicking a perfect six from six with the boot.
On Saturday, Featherstone came excruciatingly close against Toulouse in the south of France but fell short after Matthieu Laguerre’s match-winner for the French outfit.
Sunday’s action saw York Knights beat Barrow Raiders to remain top of the Championship table.
It was the Knights’ 10th successive league win in an error-strewn affair – caused by extremely wet and rainy conditions.
Mark Applegarth’s men never lost the lead, however, and went on to score five tries on their way to victory.
Barrow scored twice in quick succession in the second half to reduce the deficit from 20 points to eight, but Connor Bailey’s try with five minutes to go ensured another win for York.
As expected, Batley and Halifax’s clash was a brutal battle, in what was a milestone fixture for the Bulldogs’ John Kear, who took charge of his 700th game as a head coach.
And things seemed to be going right in Batley’s favour with tries from Lucas Walshaw and Robbie Butterworth, as well as three Josh Woods goals, giving the hosts a 16-6 lead.
But ‘Fax pulled off the most magnificent of comebacks in the final quarter, with James Saltonstall scoring on his 250th appearance for his hometown club and offering his side a lifeline, before Charlie Graham completed his brace four minutes later.
Adam Tangata’s try at the death then snatched a dramatic victory, leaving Batley truly shell-shocked and sending the away crowd into raptures.
‘Fax move back into the Play-Off spots as a result and sit in fifth place.
Elsewhere, the Dons kept their Play-Off hopes alive and in turn dented Widnes Vikings’ chances, after an emphatic victory at the DCBL Stadium.
Tries from Greg Burns, Edene Gebbie and Reece Lyne gave Richard Horne's side a 10-point lead at the interval.
The hosts came from behind to go in front in the second half, but Craig Hall took matters into his own hands on his 400th senior appearance to score a crucial six points late on that secured a first Dons win in Widnes since 2001.
Finally, London Broncos narrowed the gap between themselves and Widnes in the table to just four points – something which has boosted their aim of avoiding the bottom four at the end of the regular season.
The Broncos pulled off a glorious win away at Sheffield with six different try scorers on Sunday afternoon, including a Luke Polselli hat-trick – and Mike Eccles’ men can certainly be optimistic now as they head into the closing stages.
Betfred Championship Round 18 results:
Bradford Bulls 28 Oldham 12
Toulouse Olympique 24 Featherstone Rovers 22
York Knights 26 Barrow Raiders 12
Batley Bulldogs 16 Halifax Panthers 18
Widnes Vikings 16 Doncaster 20
Sheffield Eagles 6 London Broncos 48
The full fixture list for the Betfred Championship can be found here.
Photo Credit: Halifax Panthers
