Hornets welcome high flying Skolars to Spotland

Hornets welcome high flying Skolars to Spotland

Rochdale Hornets entertain London Skolars on Sunday, following a hard fought win away to Barrow Raiders, and will be looking to keep their stranglehold on top spot in League One.

They will also be celebrating Springhill Hospice’s ‘Go Green Day’, with the player’s wearing green warm up tops before kick-off.

With five wins and a draw Hornets are unbeaten in the league, with their last league defeat coming at Craven Park to Barrow back in September.

On this occasion though they battled hard against the conditions to secure an 18-4 win, with Dale Bloomfield and Jono Smith on the scoresheet, as Paul Crook added five goals.

It is the second victory of 2016 away to the Raiders for Hornets - they progressed to the quarter-finals of the iPro Sport Cup in similar conditions at the beginning of the year and Alan praised the preparation prior to the contest.

Coach Alan Kilsahw said: “Having that stop over was massive because we weren’t sat in traffic on the day and we got to spend a bit more time together.

“We could focus on the game not what time we would get there and whether we would have to put the warm up back. The preparation was spot on and proof was in the pudding with the result.”

This week’s opponents have been a surprise package in the division so far this season, as the Skolars have won four of their opening five games and currently sit in sixth position.

They are one win away from equalling their total points tally from last season and also reached the semi-finals of the iPro Sport Cup, before they were comfortably beaten by Keighley Cougars last week.

Their current form is no surprise to the Hornets’ chief though, and he is aware of the threat the Skolars possess.

“I think Jermaine (Coleman) has done a good job there. He took over at the back end of last year and changed the culture of the place and they have recruited well in the off-season.

“They have had some good results with the Pilks result aside.

“It will be a tough game and we have to be on our game this weekend, there will be no complacency from us.

"We are still trying to find that complete performance and hopefully it will come on Sunday.”

In the last meeting between the two sides they played out a close encounter in the final fixture of the season, with the hosts Hornets edging the contest 26-22.

On that day there were tries for current Hornets Bloomfield, Alex Trumper and Wayne English, with Crook knocking over three conversions.

With a trip to Oxford sandwiched in between the visits of Skolars and South Wales Scorpions, May could see the Hornets cement their place at the top before they spend a month on the road.

Every season Rochdale play a month of fixtures away from home as the pitch at Spotland undergoes maintenance after the conclusion of the football season.

A win at home to London Skolars could set the Hornets up for a successful month, before they enter a crucial period of the season.