Hornets 38 Barrow 10Jim had this to say : Hornets hoisted themselves back into the fourth place berth on the back of this ultimately convincing win against the Border Raiders of Barrow.
But - despite the apparent weight of the scoreline - Hornets didn't have it all their own way. With a couple of positional changes - most notably the omission of Matt Calland who's still suffering the after effects of a stomach bug - Hornets got off to a stutterintg start.
In the opening quarter Barrow belied their league position, Holt and Murray playing some expansive rugby that caught Hornets napping. Indeed Barrow hit the front after just ten minutes when centre McDermott gave winger Hutton just enough space to squeeze in at the corner. Holt missed the conversion, but made amends within minutes as he punted down field for a 40-20 that Owen puzzlingly let run out of play.
From the resulting set of six, McDermott turned scorer, dummying and jinking through by the posts. Holt did the honours and at 0-10, Barrow looked good for their lead, Hornets looked thoroughly jaded and the 'nets supporters were shaking their heads in disbelief.
Ten points up after 25 minutes, Barrow looked the fresher of the two sides, moving the ball neatly across the line and using Holt and Murray to good effect, chipping away at the Hornets defence with penetrating runs from acting half and some... er... ambitious long passes - several of which were ridiculously forward and inexplicably missed by Steve Presley's guide-dog.
Fortunately for us, the introduction of Joe Berry and Matt Knowles gave Hornets a kick up the arse. First a Latham Tawhai chip found Shaun Cooper in just enough space to touch down in the corner.
Tawhai was involved again five minutes later at the hub of a run-around that saw Brendan O'Meara crash over.
Danny Wood added both conversions and at 12-10, Hornets had just about re- established normal service.
The second half was a different story - Hornets lifted the pace and left Barrow in their wake. Straight from the blocks, a nifty Latham Tawhai kick saw Tommy Cooper edge in. Three minutes later Tawhai's slide rule 40-20 took Hornets into good field position. Woody found James Bunyan with enough space to take advantage and score.
Suddenly 22-10 down, Barrow's previously fluid play became scrappy and unfocused. They forced the ball too often and became increasingly frenetic in their attempt to stem the Hornets tide. Time and again they put the ball to ground under no pressure and Hornets by now were in the mood to capitalise.
On 65 minutes, Wayne McHugh worked a neat hole up the right flank, his late pass found Tommy Cooper who made good yards, but was held just short. Cooper managed to get his hands free and stood up just long enough for McHugh to take a peach of a return pass to stroll in unopposed.
Three minutes later, Darren Robinson signalled his return to full fitness with a trademark shimmy from acting half - his burst through the defence found just the fullback between him and the line. So Darren ran straight over the top of him to plant the ball under the black dot.
With five minutes remaining and Barrow dead in the water, the ball was shipped to Marlon Billy who sprinted 40 metres down the left touch-line, swatting off tacklers as he went to score his 26th try of the season in the corner.
Job done.
So, from what was an unconvincing start, Hornets dug deep to find the quality of football we're capable of. 38 unanswered points is indicative of what this side can do, but for 20 minutes they were undoubtedly carrying the hangover from Sunday. Martin Hall walked down the tunnel after the game shaking his head in frustration. If we'd been remotely arsed for 80 minutes, we'd have registered a cricket score.
But fair play to Barrow. They're one of the few sides to come to Spotland this term and give it a go. They obviously need a couple of killer forwards to cash in on the hard work that Holt and Murray do around the rucks, but they're nowhere near the worst side we've seen at home this year.
Doncaster on Sunday will be a wholly different proposition. It's the clash of the two sides that have put Leigh away this season - and any lapses will be punished accordingly.
Fourth place is better than we could ever have hoped for when we got leathered at Workington back in December.
Now it's in our hands.
The press had this to say : Rochdale Hornets had to work hard for a much-needed 38-10 home win against lowly Barrow to move into fourth place in the Northern Ford Premiership.
After Sunday's memorable victory over Leigh, Rochdale might have expected an easy ride, but for long periods of the first half the visitors were on top.
Barrow took the lead in the 20th minute as Glen Hutton finished off a well worked move.
Four minutes later and the visitors were further ahead as the impressive Brett McDermott forced his way over.
Hornets clawed their way back as Sean Cooper collected a Latham Tawhia kick to score in the corner. Danny Wood added the conversion.
Rochdale then edged in front on the half hour as an intricate passing move was finished off by Brendan O'Meara. Wood converted.
Hornets started the second half in style, as Sean Cooper cantered in after two minutes and James Bunyan added Hornets' fourth try.
An error-ridden period followed and the home crowd had to wait until the 65th minute before Cooper presented Wayne McHugh with an easy chance. This was quickly followed by another as Darren Robinson sprinted from acting half-back to score.
Marlon Billy rounded off what was in the end a convincing win with his 26th try of the season.