HUNSLET completed their home programme in the regular Betfred League 1 campaign with a 100 per cent winning record – achieving that feat for the first time since 1986/87, when coaches David Ward and Peter Jarvis guided the club to the old Division Two title – with Sunday’s 56-14 win over the section’s bottom side, London Skolars.
The Skolars, who are without a league victory this season, put in a stronger performance than that scoreline might suggest, the Parksiders notching two of their ten tries in the first five minutes and another four in the last eleven.
Between-times, Hunslet were a little disjointed, not perhaps being helped by the impact of their own blistering start, or by the sin-binning of Matty Beharrell on nine minutes for allegedly obstructing Phil Lyon when the scrum-half was chasing his own kick-through.
There was, however, no doubting the south Leeds outfit’s superiority, and a real grip was established on second spot in the final table – with the last fixture scheduled for this Sunday, at Workington – with a hat-trick for winger Johnny Campbell, a try and seven goals for Beharrell (who now needs two goals to reach 500 in his career), and touchdowns to Adam Ryder, Steve Crossley, Jordan Syme, Myles Lawford – who landed a goal while Beharrell was off – Joe Burton and Lewis Wray.
Two of Campbell’s tries were very impressive efforts, his first by rounding Abevia McDonald with no space to work with, and his third through rising high to a Beharrell bomb.
The Parksiders, though, missed the suspended Michael Knowles, the injured Harvey Hallas and two men who were ill, in Sam Hallas and Aaron York.
The Skolars, who posted tries by Max Allen, McDonald and Small, one of which Lyon improved, were only 22-10 behind at the break, before Hunslet dominated exchanges.
The Parksiders’ head coach Alan Kilshaw said: “It was the good, the bad and the ugly. We were inconsistent for a long period but I was very pleased how we finished and worked through those issues.
“Some players got valuable game-time and after a longer period away from training the group has blown the cobwebs off and are ready to rip in for the end of the season, starting with this Sunday’s match at Workington.”