Championship RL results and round-up: 58 the magic number and Widnes Vikings’ hearts broken by York City Knights heroics

There’s no denying that this week in the Championship, all eyes are on Monday night’s blockbuster clash between Leigh and Featherstone on Premier Sports.

But today was an opportunity for sides beneath the top two to jostle for play-off places and one play-off hopeful got a dramatic win over struggling Widnes today.

York City Knights trailed 14-4 at Widnes who looked much better after their recent struggles but two second half tries denied the Vikings a win. The winner was Matty Marsh who crossed with seven minutes to go with Jamie Ellis’ conversion proving the difference.

At the other end of the table there was a damning blow to Dewsbury in the race for survival as they were leapfrogged by opponents London dropping into 13th spot. It was a strong first half from the Broncos which proved the difference as both sides traded two tries in the second half of a 26-18 win for London. The vital try came from the on loan Sam Hall from Castleford with Dewsbury unable to get all the way back.

The other side in the bottom three lost in another positive development for the Broncos. Workington were one of two sides to concede 58 points as they were nilled by Barrow who have rediscovered their early season form.

The likes of Jarrod Sammut and Tee Ritson scored braces and former Super League man Hakim Miloudi scored too.

Batley also scored 58 points in their quest for a play-off spot. Tom Gilmore scored 22 points this afternoon as Luke Hooley scored twice as they beat Newcastle Thunder.

Another side chasing a play-off spot picked up a win at Whitehaven in the shape of Halifax as they beat Haven 24-12 away after trailing 12-6 at the break. Lachlan Walmsley scored against his former side.

Elsewhere Bradford downed Sheffield 30-10 after a tight first half which saw the Bulls lead 16-10 at the break despite tries from Kris Welham and talisman Thackeray.

The Bulls pulled away in the second half despite the fact Brandon Pickersgill went off injured on his return to the side after joining on loan from Featherstone. He did notch a try prior to this.

Results:

Workington Town 0-58 Barrow Raiders
Batley Bulldogs 58-18 Newcastle Thunder
Dewsbury Rams 18-26 London Broncos
Whitehaven 12-24 Halifax Panthers
Widnes Vikings 14-16 York City Knights
Sheffield Eagles 10-30 Bradford Bulls