Wath Brow Hornets moved second in the National Conference Premier Division with a convincing 60-6 win at struggling Wigan St Patrick’s.
With the season’s biggest improvers Rochdale Mayfield beating previously 100 per cent leaders Hunslet Amateurs, the Hornets are now three points off top spot.
It won’t have been lost on Wath Brow that they can close to a point if they win Saturday’s tasty looking home clash with Hunslet.
Match star for the Hornets was winger Jay Weatherill who scored six tries. A year ago he was among the leading goal scorers in the North West Counties League for Cleator Moor Celtic and is threatening to do similar in rugby league after switching codes again.
At Wigan, Weatherill had completed a hat-trick by half-time and went on to repeat the feat in the second half.
Those first-half tries had helped establish a 22-6 interval lead with Morgan McCourt also crossing the home line and Sam Curwen landing three conversions.
In the second-half Wath Brow were even more dominant and there was little St Pat’s could do to stem the tide. Weatherill scored his second hat-trick for a six-try haul and also touching down were Fran King (2), Clark Riley and Curwen, who finished with five more conversions.
Kells had to travel to West Hull with several regulars missing and put up a decent show on Humberside before going down 38-16.
They had actually led 10-6 in the first quarter before turning round 24-10 behind. Jack Ainley (2) and Joe Moore scored the tries with Grant Gainford kicking two goals.
Coach Peter Smith said: “We had several missing but managed to get a team to compete – which we did.”
Egremont Rangers have certainly got their campaign up and running in Division One as they collected a third successive victory – the last two on their travels – and have moved to the fringe of the play-offs.
Latest success came via a 48-26 win at struggling Featherstone Lions, although it might have been a banana skin as the Cumbrians just had three options on the subs bench.
With half an hour gone a blistering start had seen the Mont establish a 24-6 lead, but questions were being asked when the home side pulled back to 30-22 early in the second-half.
But it was Egremont who produced the big finish when they rallied again and dominated the final quarter for a convincing victory.
Egremont had led 30-12 at half-time with tries from Paul Corkhill (2), Fraser McNee, Leon Crellin and Arron Turnbull all converted by John Paul Brocklebank.
When they needed to in the second half the Mont pulled away with tries from Turnbull, James Newton and Quinn Wright all converted by Brocklebank.
Barrow Island needed a result at Milford after slipping dangerously close to the drop zone. Despite travelling with just 15 men they recorded a narrow 23-22 victory against the side currently next to bottom.
The important field goal came late on from Adam Jackson and they held on despite Milford scoring an even later converted try.
The Islanders had trailed 12-0 before pulling back all square by half-time and they then opened-up a 22-12 lead which they were able to narrowly hold onto in the end.
Carl McBain (2), Dan Wright and Cameron Currie scored the Island tries with Jackson also contributing three conversions.
There was mixed fortune for Cumbria’s four teams in Division Three which leaves two fighting for promotion and two battling to avoid re-election.
The good news first via Ellenborough Rangers and Millom who both won and are now third and fourth respectively in the table.
Ellenborough were ahead 18-6 at half-time against visitors Drighlington with tries from Andy Ostle, Ben Robinson and Owen Hoyles, all converted by Hoyles.
Gary Taylor, Ostle and Danny Penman added second-half tries with Taylor converting two of them and Hoyles one.
Millom trail Elbra on point scoring differential and were 34-18 winners at Bentley after going 24-4 clear by half-time. Although they lost the second-half the Woolybacks had done enough early on to warrant the points.
The six Millom tries were scored by Hadley Thompson (2), Jonathan Hodgson, Naki Saumaki, Kian McPherson and Rio McQuiston with Lee Postlethwaite kicking five goals.
It was another hard day at the office for Seaton Rangers who stay bottom with just one win to their name after a 68-6 home defeat by Leigh East.
Callum Moffat, who would normally have been playing cricket for Workington, did his bit after helping out the struggling Rangers with a first-half try converted by John Chisnall.
But the visitors were able to build on a 22-6 half-time lead and put themselves well out of sight by the end.
Hensingham threatened at one point to embarrass League leaders Oldham St Anne’s but fell away to lose 42-12 to their visitors.
They had been 14-0 behind and had pulled it back to 14-12 early in the second-half before the Oldham side powered away to a comfortable victory.
Tries by Dan McGarry and Steven Smith, both converted by Miller Dalton, had given Hensingham hope at one point.
