Doiminant Morley are left seeking bonus point to overhaul leaders

Morley dominated the game but wet and windy conditions made it difficult for them to play their usual open rugby and denied them the opportunity to pick up the bonus point they need if they are to overhaul Stockport at the top of the table.

The home side made a bright start and outside centre Charlie Spon-Smith ran in a try after only eight minutes.

Darlington hit back, going over following a drive from their pack but Morley regained the lead just before half-time when Simon Bradshaw continued his recent scoring run with another well-taken try.

He added the extras to turn Morley round 12-5 in front and was successful again three minutes after the break, kicking the conversion when Karl Bradshaw went over.

Morley looked to push on but Darlington's forwards kept control of the ball for much of the second period, frustrating the home side without really threatening some solid home defence.

Penrith 36

Cleckheaton 17

The long journey to Cumbria seemed to take its toll on Cleckheaton as they conceded two tries in the first six minutes.

Penrith winger Armstrong crossed following a fumble at the kick-off, quickly followed by stand-off Steve Wood, who sold a dummy and ran in between the posts.

Ian Gordon put the first points on the board for Cleckheaton with a penalty before Penrith added two further tries in quick succession, both from full-back James Ellar.

At 26-3 down with only 20 minutes on the clock, Cleckheaton could have capitulated but, instead, dug deep to try and get back in the game.

Matt Piper, who had swapped his usual 13 shirt to fill in at scrum-half, put a delicate chip through on the blindside for Ross Hayden to gather and side-step his way between the posts. Gordon added the conversion and at half-time Cleckheaton had a glimmer of hope at 26-10.

The Yorkshire side put in a determined second-half performance but conceded a penalty on 50 minutes, which Wood slotted to extend Penrith's lead.

Excellent work from the pack at the base of the ruck saw the ball driven towards the home side's line before Matt Piper forced his way over from five metres out. Gordon added the extras from the touchline to bring the score to 29-17 and bonus point looked within reach.

However, this was not to be and Armstrong crossed for his second try close to the end of the game, and Wood converted for Penrith to give a final score of 36-17.