West Bowling 58, Knottingley Rockware 10
Classy stand-off Liam Coe helped himself to a 26-point haul as West Bowling ran a 12-man Knottingley Rockware outfit ragged at Emsleys Rec.
The visitors, who were lying third in the Championship Division table, inexplicably arrived without a full team for the crucial game and paid a heavy price as their table-topping hosts cut loose to post a ten-try total.
Wingman Chris Curtain started the procession when he spun out of a tackle to cross in the corner and fellow speedster Will Forsyth, on the other flank, soon followed with a touchdown in the opposite corner.
Knottingley were rewarded for their gutsy belligerence when stand-off Ryan Eade squeezed in at the flag.
But normal service was resumed when Forsyth collected a kick through and ran across the defence, probing for the gap that put full back Liam Darville en route for a touchdown under the posts.
Coe collected the first of his two tries when he backed up hooker Gareth Cullington. And centre Jason Marshall collected a lobbed pass over two flat-footed defenders to cross the whitewash with consummate ease to put the match beyond any doubt at 30-4 going into the interval.
The mayhem continued on the restart when centre Jack Dawson tiptoed down the touchline and off-loaded to Darville, who raced over unopposed.
Substitute prop Connor Wood found acres of space up the middle as the Castleford-based visitors crumbled and handed on to Cullington, whose speed did the rest.
An interception from Dawson set Coe away for his brace and this was soon followed by a splendid effort from Forsyth, who collected a neat kick in the corner.
Knottingley dug deep into their reserves and sent a huge kick downfield, with nobody at home in the Bowling ranks to stop second-row forward Ben Potter reaching the chalk. There was a huge cheer from Rockware’s meagre supporters when Eade kicked the touchline conversion.
A flurry of punches saw Wood selected for a yellow card for his involvement in the fracas, before the impressive Forsyth completed his hat-trick.
Coe missed his only conversion attempt of the game and referee Tim Buckley then sensibly decided to bring matters to a halt 15 minutes early.
This saved the visitors any further punishment and also ensured no unnecessary injuries were sustained by either team.
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