Battling Dewsbury Rams beaten at The Shay as Halifax Panthers end four-game losing streak

In an end-to-end, tit-for-tat contest which could have gone either way, Fax took control in the final 20 minutes to seal a 30-16 victory.

The Rams, who were looking for a fifth win out of six league away games, responded in kind to tries from Ben Tibbs, Myles Lawford and Ben Forster for Fax with efforts of their own from George Senior and a double from Monty Lumb.

But the Panthers, who hadn’t tasted victory since March 27, grabbed the bull by the horns in the final quarter of the game with tries from the excellent Alfie Johnson and Jesse Soric sealing the West Yorkshire derby day spoils.

It was in another local derby in which Dewsbury suffered their only league defeat on the road before today when Heavy Woollen rivals Batley Bulldogs claimed a last-gasp drop-goal win at Mount Pleasant on Good Friday.

And they were well in this fixture until Kyle Eastmond’s men pulled away in the latter stages.

Dewsbury head coach Paul March had said in the build-up to the game that “you don’t know what Halifax team you are going to get”.

And Fax were ultimately boosted with the return of Johnson who caused problems throughout.

Lawford was also a threat, and it was the half-back’s looping pass which sent Tibbs over for an early try.

Senior, however, crashed over on the right-hand side to level the score at 4-4 midway through the first half. It would become the story of the second half.

Both sides had really good spells in the first half but poor errors cost each team the chance to deliver the killer blow and get their noses in front before the half-time hooter.

Johnson then proved instrumental at the start of the second 40 when he somehow got away from the Rams’ defence before playing in Davies, in a try which came from absolutely nowhere.

It took five minutes for Dewsbury to respond though as Lumb, who started his rugby career at Halifax amateur side King Cross Park, started and ended a great move. Jacob Hookem’s conversion levelled the game again at 10-10.

Back came Fax through prop Forster who showed amazing footwork to get away from three Dewsbury players before evading the full-back to touch down untouched by the posts.

However, after Hugo Salabio dropped the ball on his own line, it allowed the Rams to get back on level terms again. It summed the game up.

It was a scrappy last play which ended with Lub picking up a loose ball and managing to scramble over. This time, it only took the Rams three minutes to level.

The influential Johnson put Fax back in front by sensationally claiming a high kick before going onto claim a deserved converted try to make it 22-16.

The way the game was going, no one could be blamed for thinking the Rams would have another say.

But once Lawford edged Fax further ahead - 24-16 - with a penalty, it signalled the first time the game had more than one score in it.

And Fax did not look back, with Serbia international Soric sealing the victory by seeing a pocket of space and scoring under the sticks.

Halifax: Brough, Tibbs, McComb, Carter, Johnson, Soric, Lawford, Salabio, Halafihi, Gittens, McCarron, Fairbank, Connor Davies

Interchanges: Curtis Davies, Forster, Calcott, Will

Tries: Tibbs, Curtis Davies, Forster, Johnson, Soric

Conversions: Lawford (4)

Penalties: Lawford

Dewsbury: C McShane, Rayner, O’Connor, Senior, Delaney, Walker, Hookem, Nelmes, J McShane, Lingard, Summers, Graham, Collinson

Interchanges: Lumb, Roberts, Bateman, Algar

Tries: Senior, Lumb (2)

Conversions: Hookem (2)