Fax bounce back to flog Eagles in South Yorkshire

Halifax bounced back after their loss to Toronto with a one-sided win over Sheffield at the Olympic Legacy Park.

Richard Marshall’s side ran out 42-6 winners on a scorching day in the Steel City, romping to a matchwinning 30-0 interval lead before stalling slightly as they tried to finish the job after the break.

There were just three minutes on the clock when hooker Ben Kaye burrowed his way over from dummy half, Steve Tyrer converting for a 6-0 lead.

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And the visitors were unstoppable in those opening minutes, Chester Butler scoring from Scott Murrell’s short ball as the Eagles defence melted away in the heat.

Former Sheffield full back Quentin Laulu-Togagae was next over, Shane Grady doing the initial damage, before Butler grabbed a second from Kaye’s pass.

And with Tyrer on a 100 per cent record with the boot, the visitors led 24-0 after 20 minutes.

Both sides toiled in the second quarter, with Fax over-playing against a home side who seemed incapable of holding possession long enough to build any sort of pressure.

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But they were over again just before half time, QLT scoring a second with a solo finish from 20 metres after Murrell slipped him through the gap, Tyrer kicking the goal for 30-0.

The visitors missed two chances early in the second period, James Saltonstall unable to find Johnston after breaking clear down the middle and the winger missing a pass from Tyrer that would have given him a try in the corner.

With Fax lapsing into a series of errors of their own as they tried to add to their tally, the Eagles finally broke their own duck when Matty Costello forced his way over at the start of the final quarter, Oscar Thomas kicking the conversion.

Centre Ed Barber finally broke the visitors’ second half duck with 12 minutes to go, charging over on the right for Tyrer to convert, before Johnston’s late solo try and Tyrer’s conversion took the visitors past the 40-point mark.

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Sheffield: Makelim; Millar, Swift, Spedding, Blackmore; Thomas, Costello; Pick, Fozard, Magrin, James, Ashworth, P. Burns. Subs: G. Burns, Davies, Garcia, Offerdahl.

Halifax: QLT; Saltonstall, Tyrer, Barber, Sharp; Murrell, Johnston; Fairbank, Kaye, Fleming, Butler, Grady, Grix. Subs: Moore, Morris, Maher, Jones