It was a day of miraculous comebacks, historic victories and London Broncos dominance in the Championship on Sunday.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, London Broncos’ perfect start to the season continued with yet another eye-catching and statement victory. Brandon Webster-Mansfield scored a hat-trick as Jason Demetriou’s side hammered Sheffield Eagles to maintain their four-point lead at the Championship summit.
But for once in the second tier, the bigger stories were away from London on a day of records being broken.
Batley rack up 100
Reiss Butterworth scored a brace for Batley Bulldogs as they beat a patched-up North Wales side still reeling from a turbulent few months off the field – but the manner of the scoreline was somewhat historic.
A century of points is rarely seen, but Batley joined the list of clubs to have achieved exactly that as they won 106-10 on a remarkable afternoon.
It means the Bulldogs are just the sixth club in rugby league history to have scored over 100 points in a league game in either of the sport’s top two divisions since 1895.
It is the first season in rugby league history where it has happened twice – and it has happened to the same team on both occasions. London Broncos scored a whopping 106 against the Crusaders earlier in the season: with Batley scoring the exact same amount on Sunday in West Yorkshire!
Game of the day at The Shay
Arguably the standout match on Sunday afternoon came in West Yorkshire at The Shay.
Halifax Panthers were winning 28-6 after an hour and looked set for another great victory, this time against Salford RLFC. But Will Brough’s sin-binning shifted the momentum emphatically towards the visitors, who scored 22 unanswered points to level up the scores at 28-28 going into the closing stages.
And Castleford Tigers loanee Dan Sarbah scored the match-winning try in the dying moments to ensure a thrilling 34-28 for Dave Hewitt’s side against all the odds.
There was another thriller between Rochdale and Swinton, too. The Hornets trailed 20-6 at half-time against a Lions side starting to find some form in the second tier of late but Rochdale produced a wonderful comeback to ultimately win the game 36-32.
Whitehaven also edged a nervy and thrilling contest against Keighley Cougars too, with a late penalty ensuring a 16-14 win.
Championship results: Sunday May 24
Barrow Raiders 36-22 Hunslet
Batley Bulldogs 106-10 North Wales Crusaders
Dewsbury Rams 32-6 Workington Town
Halifax Panthers 28-34 Salford RLFC
Rochdale Hornets 36-32 Swinton Lions
Sheffield Eagles 10-72 London Broncos
Whitehaven 16-14 Keighley Cougars