Injuries and ill-discipline cost Barrow Raiders as they were beaten 48-20 at Halifax Panthers in Round 16 of the Betfred Championship.
A lightning start saw the Raiders go 16-0 up inside the opening 15 minutes as they looked to continue their excellent recent run of form.
However, injuries to Ellis Gillam and Ben Evans, plus a red card for Jarrod Sammut on the stroke of half-time, proved to be pivotal and ultimately took their toll on a depleted Raiders squad at the Shay.
It took less than two minutes for Ellis Gillam to bulldoze his way over and give Paul Crarey’s side a dream start in West Yorkshire.
Things got even better soon after when Ryan Shaw crossed out wide after the ball was kept alive ambitiously, and Andrew Bulman soon followed that up with his first try for the club, making it 16-0 inside the opening quarter
Shortly after Gillam was forced from the field of play due to injury, Lachlan Walmsley scored Halifax’s first try of the afternoon, and Adam O’Brien then crashed over before half-time to put the Panthers back to within four.
The turning point came on the stroke of half-time as Jarrod Sammut was shown a red card for dissent, having initially been sent to the sin-bin following a late shot on James Woodburn-Hall.
That decision gave Halifax a man advantage for the second 40, and they quickly took the lead as Walmsley dived over for his second of the day before Ben Kavanagh spun his way over within eight minutes of the restart.
Kavanagh quickly grabbed another, making it 26-16, before Dan Fleming, Walmsley’s third and a Woodburn-Hall try put the hosts out of sight as the Raiders began to tire.
Ryan Johnston pulled one back after a fine 60m intercept, but it proved to be a temporary reprieve as a Walmsley full-length score – his fourth of the afternoon – wrapped up a comprehensive win for Fax.
The Raiders will look to make amends and return to winning ways next Sunday when Batley Bulldogs visit the Matt Johnson Prestige Stadium.
Tickets for that fixture can be bought here.
HALIFAX PANTHERS 48
Tries: Walmsley 4, O’Brien, Kavanagh 2, Fleming, Woodburn-Hall
Goals: Jouffret 6
BARROW RAIDERS 20
Tries: Gillam, Shaw, Bulman, Johnston
Goals: Shaw 2
Post-match reaction
Listen to the thoughts of head coach Paul Crarey following Sunday’s defeat.
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Photo credit: Simon Hall