WITH two games of the regular season remaining, both Crosfields and Woolston Rovers still have plenty to play for.
After victories in their latest matches on Saturday, the chances of the neighbours meeting again in the National Conference League Division One play-offs remain alive, although Rovers’ hopes of extending their season are out of their hands.
And weirdly, they could both do with favours from each other in this weekend’s fixtures.
For Soap, it is about securing prime position and home advantage in the post-season, and they took another step closer to doing that by beating Dewsbury Moor Maroons 34-22 at Hood Lane.
Dylon Braddish scored a hat-trick of tries as Rob Campbell’s men rebounded from losing to promoted Leigh Miners Rangers last time out, with further tries coming from Aaron Holliday, Taylor Boyne, Brad Stanway and Joe Kohe-Love.
They sit fourth in the table, a point behind third-placed Ince Rose Bridge. Teams finishing third and fourth will secure home advantage in their play-off semi-final ties.
“That was more like it – a true Crosfields performance,” Campbell said.
“We went 14-0 ahead but one loose pass allowed them to gather momentum and the game was on a knife edge until we got more space when they tired late on.
“Ben Steele and Brad Stanway played, for me, their best game this season and our outsides relish the opportunities they provide.
“They were big and mobile, but we contained them and that’s our game.
“With two games to go, we have to win both to secure at least fourth place.”
The first of those two games is a trip to Wigan St Patricks, who are fighting to get into the play-off spots.
To that end, Woolston – who sit level on points with Pats in eighth – may well have half an eye on how their neighbours get on and the same could be true of Crosfields, with Rovers travelling to Ince Rose Bridge on Saturday.
The Green and Golds’ superb form may have come a little too late to sneak into the top six, but they recorded a seventh win in 10 games by beating Stanningley 18-6 at Monk Sports Club on Saturday.
James Tarpey, Ethan Jones and Adam Files were on the scoresheet for Woolston, with head coach Liam Lawton commending the way his side defended their line.
“It wasn’t pretty at times but sometimes you have to ‘win ugly’ and the way the lads dug in for each other was first class and I was proud of all the lads,” he said.
“We made some mistakes that prevented us from scoring more points and also at times Stanningley put us under pressure, but the way we defended our line was brilliant.
“We have now won seven of our last ten games and we will be looking to finish the season on a high.”
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