Bulldogs edge thriller to go fifth as Hawks strike gold on travels

Luke Blake, Greg Minikin, Alex Brown, David Scott and Alister Leek scored the Batley tries while Dominic Brambani added five goals and Patrick Walker a late drop goal. Brett Phillips, Perry Whiteley, Jarrod Sammut and Jack Murphy crossed for Workington – with Carl Forber enjoying a perfect afternoon with the boot – but Town remain rooted to the foot of the table.

Leigh Centurions stretched their unbeaten run in the Kingstone Press Championship to 13 games with a 48-6 victory at Swinton Lions that maintained their three-point lead at the top. Former England international Lee Smith scored two tries while Tom Armstrong, Jonathan Pownall, Richard Whiting, Martyn Ridyard, Dayne Weston, Ben Reynolds and Joshua Drinkwater all crossed once.

Ridyard added five goals and Reynolds one as Leigh completely dominated a Swinton side that could only respond once through former Centurions hooker Anthony Nicholson. Apirana Pewhairangi scored a hat-trick on his London debut as the Broncos hammered Whitehaven 62-4 to keep the pressure on leaders Leigh.

Pewhairangi, who represented Ireland at the 2013 World Cup, boosted his chances of earning a permanent deal with an eye-catching display while Ben Hellewell also scored a treble and there were tries apiece for Rhys Williams, Mark Offerdahl, James Cunningham, Alex Foster and Wes Naiqama, who added nine goals. Louis Jouffret scored a late consolation for second-bottom Whitehaven.

l In League One, Hunslet Hawks overcame hosts Gloucestershire AG 26-18 thanks to tries from Ayden Faal (2), George Flanagan, Michael Haley and Jack Lee. Flanagan (2) and Danny Ansell kicked conversion points.