Skirlaugh Suffer Setback as Featherstone Lions Claim Top Billing

It was a tough afternoon for league leaders Skirlaugh RLFC as they suffered a 36-12 defeat away to second-placed Featherstone Lions, who claimed a vital two competition points and moved to the top of the table.

Skirlaugh made the perfect start and were firing out of the blocks, opening up an early 6-0 lead. A smart short-side play orchestrated by Man of the Match Lochlan Fitzgerald created the opportunity, with the half-back sending winger Josh Atkinson racing down the touchline before producing a clever kick back infield behind the covering defence. Nath Dunn reacted quickest to gather the loose ball and touch down just to the right of the posts, with Josh Smith adding the extras.

Unfortunately for the Black and Golds, that was as good as it got.

From that point Featherstone took control of the contest, dominating through their quick ruck speed, physicality and relentless line speed. Skirlaugh struggled to build any momentum, with errors and ill-discipline proving costly as the hosts capitalised on field position and possession.

Despite their efforts, Skirlaugh were unable to stem the tide as Featherstone continued to pile on the pressure and points throughout the afternoon. A late try out wide from Tom Gray offered some consolation, but it did little to change the overall picture on a day to forget for the visitors.

Full credit must go to Featherstone Lions, who thoroughly deserved their victory and now take over at the summit of the league table following an impressive all-round performance.

Head Coach Matt Danville was understandably disappointed after the final whistle.

“We started exactly how we wanted to and looked sharp in the opening exchanges, but after that we simply weren’t good enough. Featherstone won the physical battle, controlled the ruck and punished our mistakes. We made far too many errors, handed over cheap possession and never really managed to build any sustained pressure.

Credit to Featherstone because they were excellent and deserved the win, but we’re disappointed with the standards we set ourselves today. The challenge now is how we respond. We’ve got a good group in that dressing room, and we’ll learn from this performance, work hard this week and make sure we’re ready to bounce back