Dewsbury Rams 0 Halifax Panthers 36 - Rams nilled by five-star Panthers

Both sides came into the match on the back of defeats, which resulted in a tentative opening to the clash.

Halifax looked to assert their attacking prowess early on, with Nick Rawsthorne denied a try after marginally entering touch before grounding the ball.

However, the Shaymen opened the scoring moments later, as former Dewsbury man Ed Barber exploited an overload on the right wing to power over the line. Connor Robinson converted.

Halifax then assumed control of the game, capitalising on numerous Dewsbury errors to maintain attacking field position.

Robinson converted a penalty to open up an 8-0 lead. A high tackle from Dewsbury resulted in a further penalty, with Robinson slotting another kick to widen the gap to 10-0.

Halifax forced Dewsbury into a goal-line dropout after another excellent kick from Robinson, with James Woodburn-Hall creating a two-on-one scenario, feeding the onrushing Barber for his second try.

Robinson continued his perfect kicking record, converting to move Halifax to a 16-0 advantage.

Into the second half and Halifax continued to assert their dominant attacking skills.

A line break from Woodburn-Hall led to Brandon Moore running the perfect inside line, going over the line to extend the lead.

Another two-pointer from Robinson’s boot extended the advantage to 22-0.

The Panthers kept up the pressure on the Dewsbury line, with Rawsthorne fed out wide to slide in at the corner.

Yet another Robinson conversion pushed the score to 28-0, as the Shaymen opened up an unassailable advantage.

Leading up to the game, Simon Grix spoke of the need to defend well for 80 minutes, and the Panthers made numerous excellent defensive plays.

Matt Garside and Ben Kavanagh were outstanding in the Panthers’ rear-guard, wrapping up numerous tackles to preserve their side’s try line.

The evening got even better for Halifax as the clock ticked over 70 minutes, as Adam Tangata fed Elliot Morris to stroll in under the posts.

Robinson converted the try, and added another penalty, to take his personal tally to eight from eight for the evening.

Dewsbury’s evening turned from bad to worse with five minutes to play, with Chris Annakin sin binned for an off-the-ball incident.

Dewsbury were unable to breach the Halifax defence, and the Panthers recorded their first shutout since 2019.

The Panthers boasted an 80 per cent completion rate for the match, and they will go into their next fixture against Sheffield full of confidence.