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Rochdale Hornets had to come from behind and battle to win against Workington Town to maintain their unbeaten start to 2026.
Confidence was high in the Hornets camp following last week’s cup victory at Waterhead Warriors, although Cumbrian visitors Workington provided a far sterner test.
Workington scored after just four minutes as Mason Lewthwaite pounced on a perfect low kick.
Hornets almost hit back just moments later, Jamie Dallimore’s kick to the corner and a high tackle on Max Flanagan caused two repeat sets, but the Hornets couldn’t make either pay.
Workington went close again just after the midway point of the first half, but tenacious defence from the Hornets kept them at bay before Workington gave away another penalty just inside their own half to gift Hornets possession .
Workington added to their lead in controversial fashion 10 minutes before the break. Zarrin Galea looked to have knocked on while contesting a high kick, before Brandon Leigh picked up the pieces to hack the ball towards the line and score.
Hornets scored on the stroke of half-time to get themselves back in the game. TJ Boyd latched onto the end of an inch-perfect kick from Dallimore to get his side on the board and reduce the deficit to four points.
The try seemed to act as a spark as Hornets came racing out of the blocks at the start of the second half, and were instantly on the front foot, creating a few half-chances in the early stages.
After a slow first half, Hornets began to take a hold of the match, and it wasn’t long until they really threatened the Workington line.
Dallimore was in the thick of the action again just after the interval, after being awarded a penalty following a trip inside the opposition half.
From the resulting set, Junior Sa’u found his way over the line but couldn’t get the ball down and was dragged into touch by a swarm of Workington defenders.
The game started to become scrappy and fragmented as errors started to creep in, but another outstanding kick, this time from Joe Hickey, was caught by Dan Nixon to level the scores just before the hour mark. Flanagan added the extras, and the momentum had shifted in Hornets’ favour.
Boyd grabbed his second of the afternoon soon after, breaking away from Alexander Donaghy on the wing to dive home in the corner. Crucially, Flanagan converted from a tough angle to increase the lead to eight points.
Hornets were hungry for more and with six minutes to go Nixon again plucked the ball out of the air to get his second try and secure the two competition points.
Everyone of a Hornets persuasion inside the Crown Oil Arena could finally breathe a sigh of relief, with daylight between the two sides.
Nevertheless, Workington did get a late consolation in the dying embers as Rio Corkill muscled his way over from close range. Jake Carter added the extras with the last kick of the game.
It was too little, too late for Workington as Hornets made it two Championship wins from two.
Next up for Hornets is a mouth-watering Challenge Cup third round tie against 21-time competition winners Wigan Warriors at the Crown Oil Arena on Sunday 8 February (3pm kick-off).
Rochdale Hornets: Flanagan, Boyd, Sa’u, Nixon, Dallimore, Hickey, Reid, Whitmore, Kelly-Duffy, Wood, Metcalfe, Syme.
Bench: Hatton, Andrade, Lynch, Waterworth.
Tries: Boyd (2), Nixon (2)
Goals: Flanagan (2)
Workington Town: Galea, Doran, Corkill, Leigh, Donaghy, Carter, Wear, Ainley, Phillips, Farrer, Lewthwaite, Rawhiti, Bradley.
Bench: Bedward, Castle, Reid, Williams.
Tries: Lewthwaite, Leigh, Corkill
Goals: Carter
