Rochdale Hornets 18 - 42 Sheffield Eagles

Date published: 15 April 2017

Rochdale Hornets’ winless run continued as they were well beaten by Sheffield Eagles on Good Friday in their first Easter fixture of the weekend, going down 42-18 at the Crown Oil Arena.

It was a frustrating afternoon for Hornets as a poor first half left Alan Kilshaw’s men with too much to do, and their lack of execution at crucial periods led to a host of chances going begging.

It’s a fifth straight defeat for Hornets and a sixth game without a win - their last victory came away to Featherstone Rovers back in March.

Lewis Palfrey returned from a concussion and Josh Crowley was also back in the starting line-up, with Taylor Prell making his debut on dual-registration.

Injuries have caused Hornets to call on their partner club Warrington Wolves for players recently, and they won’t be helped by the loss of Gavin Bennion during the defeat to the Eagles as he left the field concussed.

The afternoon started on a positive as Crowley pounced on Danny Yates’ grubber to open the scoring just three minutes in. Palfrey adding the extras.

An instant reply came through Garry Lo, as he exposed Hornets from dummy half far too easily to cross for a soft try.

Lo then broke down the left edge from the next set with Elliot Minchella racing over in support as the Eagles opened up a six point lead.

Rob Massam was on a four game scoring streak, and he went close soon after when Gary Middlehurst fired a blind side pass to him from behind the play-the-ball, however the wide man coughed up possession in his attempt to find the try line.

Prell had a chance pulled back for offside and Jack Johnson’s forward pass halted a Hornets attack in a good position, before Gregory Burns scored another dummy half try to punish Hornets.

There was a glimmer of hope when Palfrey’s cut-out ball sent Samir Tahraoui over, but they couldn’t use the momentum and a late collapse saw Hornets 18 points behind at half time.

Half time: Rochdale Hornets 12 - 30 Sheffield Eagles

The first of two tries in five minutes saw Lo add his second, and Menzie Yere came up with the assist in his 250th appearance for Sheffield.

Jake Spedding’s breakaway try on the right edge rounded off the half as he managed to cross the whitewash despite the best efforts of the retreating Johnson.

Lo was looking for his hat-trick and almost had it early in the second half; with the try line in sight Massam produced an incredible try saver. However, it just delayed the inevitable and a stroke of luck ended in Duane Straugheir crossing from a deflected kick.

Massam twice went close but he was held up short before knocking on a Yates bomb.

The introduction of Lewis Galbraith gave the Hornets attack a well needed boost. He burst through the Eagles defence before he stepped past the fullback to touch down and give Hornets hope.

Hornets killed their chances with poor execution and terrible handling though, and any chance of a fight back came to nothing.

Brown added a penalty goal with 15 minutes left on the clock before Lo completed his hat-trick with another dummy half score with the final play of the game.

Hornets travel to local rivals Swinton Lions on Monday looking for a much needed win.

Rochdale Hornets: Jack Johnson, Jake Eccleston, Lewis Gailbraith, Rob Massam, Lewis Palfrey, Danny Yates, Gavin Bennion, Jono Smith, Josh Crowley, Gary Middlehurst, Ryan Maneely, Jovili Taira, Taylor Prell.
Replacements: Samir Tahraoui, Ben Moores, Lee Mitchell, Matthew Blythe.
Tries: Josh Crowley, Samir Tahraoui, Lewis Gailbraith.
Goals: Lewis Palfrey (3).

Sheffield Eagles: Ryan Millar, Garry Lo, Menzie Yere, Jake Spedding, Ben Blackmore, Simon Brown, Elliot Minchella, Scott Wheeldon, Matty Fozard, Mark Mexico, Matt James, Duane Straughier.
Replacements: Will Hope, Greg Burns, Liam Johnson, Sam Scott, Kyle Trout.
Tries: Garry Lo (3), Elliot Minchella, Greg Burns, Jake Spedding, Duane Straughier.
Goals: Simon Brown (7).

Referee: Gareth Hewer.

Attendance: 526

Photos: Jackie Meredith

Alan Kilshaw's thoughts on Hornets' disappointing defeat to Sheffield Eagles
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