Report: Rochdale Hornets 20-14 Workington Town

Rochdale Hornets had to come from behind and battle to a 20-14 win against Workington Town to maintain their unbeaten start to 2026.

Confidence was high in the Hornets camp following last week’s cup victory at Waterhead Warriors, although Cumbrian visitors Workington would provide a far sterner test in the club’s home opener.

It was the visitors who struck first after just four minutes as Mason Lewthwaite pounced on a perfect low kick to open the scoring.

Rochdale almost hit back just moments later, Jamie Dallimore’s kick to the corner and a high tackle on Max Flanagan caused two repeat sets, but the home side couldn’t make either pay.

Workington went close again just after the midway point of the first half, but tenacious defence from the Hornets kept them at bay, before the away side gave away another penalty just inside their own half to gift Rochdale possession .

Workington added to their lead in controversial fashion 10 minutes before the break. Zarrin Galea looked to have knocked on while contesting a high kick, before Brandon Leigh picked up the pieces to hack the ball towards the line and score.

Gary Thornton’s side did get on the scoresheet on the stroke of half-time to get themselves back in the game. TJ Boyd latched onto the end of an inch-perfect kick from Dallimore to get his side on the board and reduce the deficit to four points.

The try seemed to act as a spark as the home side came racing out of the blocks at the start of the second half, and were instantly on the front foot, creating a few half-chances in the early stages.

After a slow first half, the Hornets began to take a hold of the match, and it wasn’t long until they really threatened the Workington line. 

Dallimore was in the thick of the action again just after the interval, after being awarded a penalty following a trip inside the opposition half.

From the resulting set, Junior Sa’u found his way over the line but couldn’t get the ball down and was dragged into touch by a swarm of Town defenders.

The game started to become scrappy and fragmented as errors started to creep in, but another outstanding kick, this time from Joe Hickey, was caught by Dan Nixon to level the scores just before the hour mark. Flanagan added the extras, and the momentum had shifted in Rochdale’s favour.

Boyd grabbed his second of the afternoon soon after, breaking away from Alexander Donaghy on the wing to dive home in the corner. Crucially, Flanagan converted from a tough angle to increase the lead to eight points.

The Hornets were hungry for more and sealed the deal with six minutes to go, Nixon again plucking the ball out of the air to get his second and securing the two competition points.

Everyone of a Hornets persuasion inside the Crown Oil Arena could finally breathe a sigh of relief, with daylight between the two sides.

Nevertheless, Jonty Gorley’s side did get a late consolation in the dying embers as Rio Corkill muscled his way over from close range, Jake Carter added the extras with the last kick of the game, but it was too little, too late as the home side made it two Betfred Championship wins from two. 

Next up for the Hornets is a mouth-watering Betfred Challenge Cup third round tie against 21-time competition winners Wigan Warriors at the Crown Oil Arena on Sunday 8 February (3pm kick-off). Tickets are available to buy here.

Rochdale Hornets: Flanagan, Boyd, Sa’u, Nixon, Dallimore, Hickey, Reid, Whitmore, Kelly-Duffy, Wood, Metcalfe, Syme. Subs: Hatton, Andrade, Lynch, Waterworth.

Tries: Boyd (2), Nixon (2)

Goals: Flanagan (2)

Workington Town: Galea, Doran, Corkill, Leigh, Donaghy, Carter, Wear, Ainley, Phillips, Farrer, Lewthwaite, Rawhiti, Bradley. Subs: Bedward, Castle, Reid, Williams.

Tries: Lewthwaite, Leigh, Corkill

Goals: Carter

Photo credit: Craig Irvine