Hornets set for season opener

Rochdale Hornets vs Hunslet Hawks

Rochdale Hornets kick off their league campaign on Sunday, as fellow supporter owned club Hunslet Hawks travel to Spotland Stadium.

Hornets will go into the contest off the back of a derby victory in the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup third round, as they defeated Rochdale Mayfield 40-14.

It came at a cost as David Cookson picked up a shoulder injury which will see him sidelined for a number of weeks, adding to coach Alan Kilshaw’s woes in the centre position with Lewis Galbraith already out.

Jo Taira’s suspension ended this weekend, and he is set to make his debut and add to the long list of Fijian’s who have represented the club.

Taira joined in the off-season from Mayfield but has been unavailable due to a suspension he picked up while playing for the NCL outfit.

Kilshaw has been forced to bring in three Warrington Wolves players to help cope with their injury problem - Joe Philbin, Jack Johson and Ben Evans are all in the squad.

Hunslet saw off Barrow Raiders last week in the Challenge Cup with an impressive 46-12 victory, bouncing back from their loss in the iPro Sport Cup to York City Knights.

They could be without Mickey Haley and Jimmy Watson as they both picked up knocks in that victory, but their fitness will be assessed ahead of Sunday.

The last time the two sides met was back in 2010 at Spotland, with Hornets running out 28-22 winners.

Wayne English, Paul Crook and John Cookson all featured, with English and Crook finding their way onto the score sheet. Crook also added three conversions and a field goal.

The Hawks were relegated from the Championship last year and will be looking to return to the second tier at the first time of asking, and Kilshaw is well aware of the threat they pose.

He said: “We’ve had two really tough games in Barrow away, and then Mayfield away, which was a bit of a blood and thunder derby.”

“We’ve certainly got our match fitness up but we know this weekend we’re playing against a team who have come down (from the Championship) on the back of a real good performance against Barrow themselves.

“It will be a step up from the previous two weeks for sure.”

With an uninterrupted pre-season under their belts, Hornets will be looking to hit the ground running on Sunday and get the league campaign off to a winning start.

Rochdale Hornets versus Hunslet Hawks: Sunday 6 March, 3pm KO, Spotland Stadium.