Kelly praises Dewsbury's character after hard-fought success over Sheffield

Dewsbury lost their opening eight league matches in 2017 before Kelly was brought in for his second stint with the Rams and guided them to a first win against Batley Bulldogs on Good Friday.

Kelly was pleased with his side’s preparations in pre-season and saw the Rams grind out a 20-18 victory in a hard-fought match against Sheffield.

Speaking after the game, Kelly said: “I thought we were good value for the win. On the balance of play overall, I thought we just edged it and the scoreline would suggest that, we were never convincing winners.

“I said to the players after that it was a great first half and a dumb second half when you give away penalties like we did in the second half, whether they are justified or not.

“Twice Sheffield picked the ball up in their own 25 and 10 tackles later, because we have given a penalty away, they score a try against us. That’s dumb football.

“All credit to Sheffield because they capitalised on that but we’ve got to smarten up a bit.

“It was a typical start of season game. Both sides looked a bit rusty in some areas but will get better. Overall I am really pleased.

“Compared to the start of last season it’s a big improvement.

“To get a win is fantastic. Both sides needed a tough game and it was a tough, physical game and a good game of rugby league for the purest and I’m over the moon with it.

“It was a really gutsy performance and I’m really pleased with the character and spirit we have got within our team.

“We are a bit dumb at times but when he have the spirit in the side you will have a chance to rectify the areas which we were a bit dumb over.

“I’m really pleased with the character shown and we move on to next week.”

The Rams welcome London Broncos to Tetley’s Stadium for their second match this Sunday.