It's fitting in these times of foot and mouth panic that we should deal with the Rams of Dewsbury in much the same way that the rest of the nation's sheep have been treated.
Hornets got off to a flying start. Robinson burrowing through from close range, Wood adding the extras and Hornets ahead after about ten minutes. Then came the moment that may well have had some bearing on the magnitude of the win, if not the actual outcome. Stephenson and Fisher involved in a bit of 'handbags' following a play the ball, Fisher seeing the red mist, punched Stevo square in the face ten feet from the touch judge. Card, red - and the big idiot gets an early finish. Woody slotted the penalty - 8-0.
Then two identical moments of sheer magic down the left flank. Wood short, flat ball to Scully; Scully steams through big hole and outpaces centre; Scents the unmistakable odour of 'nervous fullback' and slots a perfect inside ball for Watto to sprint under the posts from 30 metres. Then repeat after five minutes. Hornets 20-nil up and Dewsbury looking shellshocked. Typically, Hornets were caught napping right on the hooter as Richard pachniuk picked up a trademark five yard special for Hornets to go in 20-6 up
Dewsbury began the second half with a rocket in their pants. Hornets failed to respect posession, the Rams worked the ball down the field and some neat interchanging in front of the posts saw Godfrey plunge over.
But just as the Hornets fans began their 'seen all this before' uneasy shuffle, the 'Nets hit the overdrive button. First, Marlon Billy took the first pass from a scrum in his own half to steam through the Rams' line and sprint 70 metres for a quite spectacular try. Then Larder, taking a last tackle pass from Sculthorpe with the line at his mercy took an age to pick his spot and get the ball down. He was followed to the line bt Owen - scything through with great poise - and Warren Ayres, who followed a superb break by Tawhai who had options both sides. Hornets scoring closed with an individual effort from McHugh who, with support queuing up inside chose to chip his opposite number and beat him to the touchdown. Audacious.
So, with seven minutes remaining, Hornets were 44-12 ahead and looking for 50. But, as is always the way, we took our foot of the gas to allow Dewsbury three (just count 'em) consolation tries. All of which were missed by a large proportion of the travelling contingent who left early, unable to stomach the humiliation.
So, 44-26 - on paper it looks a bit like a contest, but don't be mislead. This was a good old-fashioned stuffing. A rout of the highest order. And with three of the top four nicely dispatched now, the trip to Hull KR need hold no fears for this Hornets side that's growing in - and playing with - confidence. Once again, Danny Sculthorpe ran the show, ably supported by a quite excellent Brendan O'Meara and a rather fired-up Danny Wood. But our Man of the Match goes to Dave Watson. This little dynamo makes the whole team buzz, he never takes a backward step and tackles way above his weight. His two tries against Dewsbury are just reward for weeks of discreet hard work that often goes unnoticed.
Ultimately, this is a Hornets side that looks capable of doing real damage in the NFP. Martin Hall won't be happy about the way we relaxed once the game was won, but if at the start of the season you'd have offered us the scalps of Keighley, Doncaster and reigning champions Dewsbury, we'd have all been delighted.