A four point margin barely does justice to Hornets' dominance in this game and, while Halifax prised, probed and - ultimately - hurled themselves headlong into the Hornets line, this new, determined defence provided the platform for the win.

In a first half littered with indecsive handling and poor pass options from both sides, it was Hornets who found cohesion when it mattered. Having soaked up a big first 10 minutes from the Halifax attack, Hornets took the ball upfield where a sniping Paul Owen break had the 'fax defence back-pedalling. On the next play the ball was worked to Richard Varkulis who skittled defenders to score. Mark McCully slotted an excellent conversion from wide out.

Again the game stuggled to produce any fluidity. Halifax's only real attacking option was a repeatedly languid Lawfod kick into the in-goal that became increasingly impotent.

With Hornets' pack making good inroads into the Halifax defence there was only going to be one side to score next. Good forward approach play took Hornets close to the 'fax line and a smart short pass from Dave McConnell found Lee 'Pogo' Patterson arriving with sufficient pace to stretch through and score. Again, McCully slid over another tough conversion.

12-nil, Halifax clearly out of ideas and Hornets looking comfortable at half time.

The second half began at a far higher pace; Halifax opting to let Penny take over from Lawford as the fulcrum and heralding the home side's best period of the game. With substitute Brambani taking over the attacking kicking duties, Halifax subjected Hornets to an aerial bombardment. In the early exchanges a superb take under pressure saw Casey Mayberry crumple with a leg injury. Within minutes Brambani exploited his replacement coming to the game cold as Blackwood sneaked in on Paul Anderson's blind side to snatch his teasing kick and score. Lawford added the extras and - from nowhere - Halifax had a sniff of the game.

Cue the arrival of Phil Cantillon - and Hornets' momentum began to gather. As we see week in week out, his ability to prise teams open around the ruck causes defences real problems. His support play too gives runners options - and a speculative pass from McCully with 40 metres of open field bobbled to ground for a try to go begging.

Just past the hour, Hornets' handling was more incisive. Good vision from Cantillon moved the ball swiftly down the narrow side; Varkulis and Patterson's swift hands providing space for Chris Giles to crash in at the corner. 16-6 and Hornets shut up shop.

While Halifax continued to pick at the edges of Hornets' defence, the red,white and blue line refused to buckle under intense pressure. Good scrambling covered any dangers out wide and Paul Owen showed whay he's the best full-back outside Super league; a succession of stunning one-on-ones bringing Halifax attacks to a shuddering halt.

With Halifax's last tackle kicking game having forced a series of drop-outs, the pressure of repeat sets told with two minutes to go; Larder slumping in from a yard, Lawford adding the two - and a highly improbable escape act suddenly on the cards.

But panic handling on the ensuing set saw Halifax send the ball to ground and Hornets settled the ship for the closing set to take Halifax's 100% record and send the Hornets vociferous support home very happy indeed.

Darren Abram recogised the contribution of Hornets' defence to the result: "Halifax put us under a lot of pressure, but our defensive effort was superb. To keep Halifax scoreless for the first half was tremendous and I'm delighted with the whole team effort."

While this was a real arm wrestle of a game, Hornets proved that defence does win matches. with big efforts from Varkulis, Doran and Goulden on attack and defence at the heart of this win, our man-of-the-match goes to Dave MConnell for a non-stop performance and his willingness to get involved in every aspect of the game.

So - not a pretty win, but as there are no points for artistic impression in Rugby League, it's flattering enough to say that the best team won.