Dewsbury Rams boss Kelly confident but warns players against complacency

THEY ARE not yet mathematically safe, but coach Neil Kelly feels the pressure is off his Dewsbury Rams side following their 40-7 home win over Swinton Lions.
Neil Kelly.Neil Kelly.
Neil Kelly.

Rams’ victory in the opening round of the Betfred Championship Shield lifted them to fourth in the table and they are now seven points clear of the bottom two, Rochdale Hornets and Swinton, with six games remaining.

“I don’t want to be too complacent and say we are safe, but we should be,” Kelly said after his side rallied from 6-0 down and 7-6 adrift at half-time.

“I can’t see them winning four of their last six.”

Dewsbury's Adam Ryder.Dewsbury's Adam Ryder.
Dewsbury's Adam Ryder.
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Rams are now just one point behind Batley Bulldogs who they visit on Sunday and Kelly reckons they can climb higher in the table if they build on their performance in the final 40 minutes two days ago.

“We just had to get our completion rate right, run better lines and defend a bit better than we had done,” he said of the message at half-time.

“Everyone had to chip in, they did and they got their reward.

“It was a really good, comprehensive second-half performance.”

Dewsbury's Dom Speakman.Dewsbury's Dom Speakman.
Dewsbury's Dom Speakman.
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He added: “Adam Ryder played well and Dom Speakman made a difference when he had a sustained period at hooker.

“He took us forward when maybe we were struggling to go forward.”

Kelly confirmed scrum-half Gareth Moore came through his return from injury unscathed. He said: “Gareth played 80 minutes, he made some tackles, did enough with the ball and got a few good kicks away.

“He will be better for it the next time he plays.”

Dewsbury got through the game with no major new injuries and Toby Everett and Macauley Hallett could come into contention for this weekend’s derby.