Dewsbury’s late flurry of tries sweeps aside Rochdale challenge

Rochdale grabbed the first points of the game when a neat grubber kick in behind the Rams defence was pounced on by Stuart Littler. Paul Crook converted.

They were pegged back in the 23rd minute when a short ball from Tom Hemingway found Tommy Gallagher who crossed.

An inside ball from Thackeray put Gallagher through a gaping hole in the defence and he kept his composure to send Keiran Hyde in under the posts.

In the 33rd minute Dewsbury centre Shane Grady broke the line and he managed to shrug off the attentions of Wayne English before off-loading to Thackeray who raced in.

Rochdale had the final say of the first half as the ball was thrown wide to Chris Baines and he stepped back inside some weak Dewsbury defence to score. Crook converted to give a half time score of 18-12.

Rochdale grabbed a try just three minutes after the restart when Gareth Langley raced down the touchline to score in the corner. Crook converted to tie.

Hyde kicked the restart out on the full and from the halfway line Crook kicked his fourth goal of the afternoon to nudge Rochdale in front.

That was as good as it got for the visitors as Dewsbury hit top gear. In the 51st minute, Buchanan climbed highest to claim a Thackeray kick and score in the corner.

In the 58th minute a solo try from Sam Wood extended the home side’s lead and the result was beyond doubt in the 71st minute when a neat move created the space for Buchanan to grab his second of the afternoon and extend Dewsbury’s lead.

Karl Pryce denied Rochdale a bonus point in the 75th minute when he ran 40 metres to score.

Dewsbury: Pryce, Morton, Hellewell, Wood, Buchanan, Hyde, Thackeray, Hepworth, Hemingway, Haggerty, Hale, Grady, Murphy. Substitutes: Farrell, Wright, Spicer, Gallagher.

Rochdale: English, Langley, King, littler, S. Casey, Crook, Sheridan, Cookson, Dandy, Walker, Baines, J. Case, Suffolk. Substitutes: McClurg, Trumper, Gilchrist, Tilley.

Referee: M Woodhead (RFL).