Coach, Graeme West, had called on his players to "stand-up and be counted" after their inept display in the previous week's game against Swinton and for periods of the game they did just that. Yet the basics of ball control and tackling still eluded them at times and the visitors mercilessly punished those errors.

Rochdale swept into the lead after just two minutes with Danny Sculthorpe, on-loan from Wigan Warriors, charging down the right and sending winger, Iain Higgins, scuttling in for a try converted by Danny Wood. Wood also added a ninth minute penalty following a high tackle by Safraz Patel, which edged Rochdale into an 8-0 lead.

The Hornets increased that lead on 11 minutes when Brendan O'Meara ploughed over in the left corner, with Wood's conversion making it 14-0.

The omens looked bleak indeed but the words of West finally did seem to sink in and the Chorley players responded well. Andy Grundy and Man of the Match, Wayne Bloor, led a strong effort from the forwards that keyed Chorley 's best spell of the game. With the Lynx on the ascendancy both Bloor and Eddie Kilgannon were denied tries before the strong running Bloor burst through on 23 minutes to score. Graeme Close added the conversion and a 28th minute penalty that brought Chorley back into the game at 14-8.

However tries to Hornets' speedy centre, Casey Mayberry, and scrum half, Warren Ayres, in the final ten minutes of the half put paid to the Lynx revival and sent Hornets into the break with a 24-8 lead.

Hornets left winger Sean Cooper underlined the visitors supremacy when he crossed in the opening minute of the second half before the Lynx hit back through a converted Chris Causey try that restored some respectability to the score line at 28-14.

But with point-difference vital to Rochdale's hope of a third-place finish and the Lynx beginning to tire the visitors poured on the pain. Cooper crossed for his second try. Paul Owen added a brace. O'Meara grabbed his second try. Saints' target, Paul Smith, touched-down and finally Matt Long raced in to take the score past 60.

Chorley face a daunting trip to Whitehaven this Sunday before rounding off their season with a home game against Hunslet on September 8th.

CHORLEY
Chris Ramsdale, Dave Stewart, Eddie Kilgannon, Steve Ormesher, Chris Stewart, Sarfraz Patel, Martin Gambles, Andy Grundy, Graeme Close, Ashley Carroll, Simon Smith, Martin Roden, Wayne Bloor
Substitutes: Ian Speed, Rob Whittaker, Dean Cross, Chris Causey
T: Bloor (23), Causey (47)
G: Close 3/3

ROCHDALE HORNETS
Paul Owen, Sean Cooper, Brendan O'Meara, Casey Mayberry, Iain Higgins, Danny Wood, Warren Ayres, Danny Sculthorpe, Andrew Wallace, Wes Rogers, James Bunyan, Damian Ball, Paul Smith
Substitutes: Lee Wilson, Joe Berry, Ian Sinfield, Matt Long
T: Higgins (2), O'Meara (11, 60), Mayberry (31), Ayres (39), Cooper (42, 55), Owen (57, 73) Smith (65), Long (75)
G: Wood 8/12