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Report: Rochdale Hornets 12-46 Barrow Raiders

Eight-try Barrow Raiders came out on top 46-12 in a high-scoring affair against Rochdale Hornets, condemning them to a second successive defeat in the Betfred Championship.

There was a Hornets debut for centre James Duffy who joined the club on a short-term loan from Warrington Wolves earlier in the week, while there was a return to the bench for loose forward Jordan Syme.

After a scrappy opening few minutes, it was Rochdale who opened the scoring thanks to Jaden Dayes, who broke through a tackle to spin over the line and ensure Max Flanagan had an easy kick in front of the posts to put the Hornets six ahead.

The visitors were on the board just moments later, a swift passing move to the right-hand side finding Luke Broadbent, who produced a flying finish in the corner.

They had the lead just after the 15-minute mark as Matt Costello crashed his way over the line, before Brad Walker turned four points into six from the tee.

Straight from the restart, the Raiders were in again, Ryan Johnston breaking away before sprinting 60m to finish next to the posts.

Joe Bullock added his name to the scoresheet midway through the first half, planting the ball down from close range.

The home side hit back, however, 12 minutes before the break. A quick break from Duffy bought the Hornets some valuable field position, before an inventive offload from Jordan Paga found Ethan Wood to finish the job.

The scoring didn’t stop there, and Barrow were in for their fifth score of the afternoon on 30 minutes, a low kick towards the in-goal area pounced on by Ryan King.

With a 16-point deficit at the interval, Gary Thornton’s side faced an uphill task going into the second half, and after a slow start to the second 40, that challenge became ever harder as Barrow quickly re-discovered their momentum.

A looping ball over the top found Ellis Robson, who sliced through a gap in the Hornets defence to score.

Johnston thought he had his second try just before the hour mark but after consultation between the match officials, the try was ruled out for obstruction, before Paul Crarey’s side reached the 40-point barrier moments later as King grabbed a brace underneath the posts.

The scoreline was put beyond any reasonable doubt soon after as Alex Bishop darted out from dummy-half to become the latest name on an ever-growing try scorer’s list, with Walker adding two more points to his total once again.

It was almost 50 points for the visitors 10 minutes from time, an interception by Shane Toal setting him on a run from his own line to halfway, before finding Walker who in-turn found Broadbent, but the winger strayed into touch to gift possession back to Rochdale.

A second visit from Sheffield Eagles to the Crown Oil Arena awaits the Hornets next week in the 1895 Cup, with Gary Thornton’s side eager to find their early season momentum.

Rochdale Hornets: Flanagan, Nixon, Duffy, Sa’u, Boyd, Paga, Hansen, Dayes, Roby, Barratt, Metcalfe, Wood, Whitmore. Bench: Syme, Waterworth, McKler, Reid.

Tries: Dayes, Wood

Goals: Flanagan (2)

Barrow Raiders: Creswell, Broadbent, Teare, Toal, Ritson, Walker, Johnston, Bullock, Wood, Makin, Robson, Costello, King. Bench: Bishop, Richards, Stack, Emslie

Tries: Broadbent, Costello, Johnston, Bullock, King (2), Robson, Bishop

Goals: Walker (7)