League 1 round-up: Whitehaven edge Oldham, Coventry shock London,14-try Doncaster rout West Wales
There were shocks, high scores and plenty of excitement in the latest round of Betfred League 1 action.
Whitehaven maintained their two-point cushion at the top of Betfred League 1 after overcoming third-placed Oldham 16-10.
Haven, who had lost their previous six meetings with the Roughyeds, had the boot of Connor Holliday and Jordan Burns to thank in getting them over the line. Scott Law and Zach McComb scored for Oldham, but defeat leaves them three points behind the table-toppers, albeit with a significantly better points difference.
Newcastle leapfrogged Oldham into second after a second-half resurgence saw them grind out a 26-12 win away at Hunslet.
The hosts had led 12-4 at half-time after James Woodburn-Hall and Josh Tonks’ tries had cancelled out Joe Brown’s early score. Nevertheless, Rhys Clarke, Evan Simons, Keiran Gill and Keale Carlile all scored after the restart to ensure Simon Finnigan’s side claimed victory.
Elsewhere, Doncaster moved up into fourth after a 14-try demolition of West Wales, who remain without a win in 2019.
Sam Doherty crossed four times, while Connor Bower also managed to bag a hat-trick. There were further scores for Kyle Kesik, Brad Foster, Watson Boas, Connor Scott, Stefanos Bastas, Richard Owen and Jason Tali as Dons recorded their biggest win of the season.
The biggest surprise of the round came in the capital as London slumped to a shock 36-20 defeat against Coventry.
Skolars led 20-12 early in the second half thanks to Lameck Juma (2) and Mo Agoro (2), but Coventry turned things around as they recorded six converted tries. Elliott Hall and Keiran Sherratt both scored twice, while there were further tries for Sam Davies and Hayden Freeman.
In the final game of the round, North Wales went level on points with Workington after picking up a 30-18 win over Chris Thorman’s side.
Crusaders led 18-12 at the break after tries from Kenny Hughes, Steve Roper and Dante Morley-Samuels, with Workington replying through Carl Forber and Perry Singleton. Morley-Samuels’ second and Kenny Baker’s effort gave the hosts some breathing space, and Declan O’Donnell last-minute try came too late to spark a comeback.
Betfred League 1 results:
London Skolars 20-36 Coventry Bears
West Wales Raiders 0-72 Doncaster
North Wales Crusaders 30-18 Workington Town