DODWORTH ARLFC produced another magnificient display to beat Victoria Rangers (Bradford) 32-18 and further secure their Division One status. The result in this changed fixture was even more impressive as they kicked off with only 12 men, due to a number of players arriving late as a result of work commitments. Cohesion was difficult to find in the early stages, but against the odds Dodworth opened the scoring with a powerfully-taken try from second row forward Shaun Wragg, converted by Chris Duckett. Rangers replied with a well-taken try which followed some fine handling from their three-quarter line. Dodworth had to soak up long periods of pressure until midway through the first period when, at last to full strength, scrum half Daniel Blanchard, with almost his first touch of the ball, forced his way over for an unconverted try. Going into the break 10-6 in front, Dodworth were confident of adding to their lead but were quickly taken aback when Victoria scored two tries in quick succession shortly after the break, both converted. Earlier in the season they would not have recovered but, following some tremendous driving forward from forwards Joe Atkinson, Shaun Wragg and Rob Hodgson, full-back Andy Cutler found himself 30 metres out and, with the very slightest of dummies, glided over the try line to the right of the posts for a try converted by Chris Duckett. Joe Atkinson gained reward for his sterling efforts for an unconverted try on the wide left after another charging run. Stand-off half Chris Duckett applied some nifty footwork to score close to the posts and he quickly followed with another try when he picked up a loose ball near the try line and popped over to score behind the post. With his 16 point tally, Chris Duckett won the man of the match award. Dodworth are at home again this weekend to St Joseph’s (Huddersfield) 2.30pm. Coaching staff are hoping all players can report early for this very important game. Hoyland Vikings travelled to in-form Wyke and came away empty handed. A strong and quick Wyke team added plenty of early pressure and opened the scoring with a converted try in the sixth minute. More assaults on the Vikings' line produced further scores on 15, 23 and 36 minutes to make it 19-0 at half-time. The Vikings improved in the second half and Gareth Berry scored in the corner on 45 minutes. However, Wyke continued to threaten as a result of handling errors and further scores on 57 and 76 minutes secured a comfortable 29-4 victory. Gareth Davies again showed why he is highly-rated as one for the future following another fine defensive performance but the Vikings will be hoping for an improved display this weekend against Elland.
