Championship round-up: Wins for Featherstone Rovers, Batley Bulldogs and York Knights over Dewsbury Rams as race for the play-offs hots up

Rovers are now back in sixth place - after being temporarily dislodged by Doncaster who stunned Toulouse on Saturday, 20-18 - after an 8-0 triumph at fellow promotion hopefuls Widnes Vikings, while Batley and York kept up the pressure by beating Swinton and rock-bottom Dewsbury Rams, respectively.

The weekend results leave Fev (20 points) one point above Doncaster (19 points) in seventh, who in turn are a solitary point above the Knights in 8th and the Bulldogs in ninth (both on 18 points).

Halifax Panthers beat Barrow Raiders 38-12 for a third successive Championship win to move to 16 points and cannot be ruled out of making a late surge towards the play-offs.

In a tight, low-scoring affair at the DCBL Stadium, Fev’s defence, ultimately, came out on top, with Ben Reynolds scoring the game’s only try after intercepting the ball two minutes before the half-time hooter and running 40 metres to touch down to break the deadlock.

Reynolds was the game’s only points scorer as he then converted his own try before adding an extra two points with a penalty goal ten minutes into the second half.

Fev then dug deep to prevent Widnes from getting over the whitewash and claim a huge win in their quest for a play-off spot.

Batley, however, despite two successive defeats against Halifax and Fev, are firmly back with a shout of the top six after responding positively at home to Swinton Lions.

In a big day for the club, both on and off the pitch, the Bulldogs ran out 26-6 winners thanks to two tries from Joe Burton and efforts from Brandon Moore, Luke Cooper, and Ben White.

Burton’s double was sandwiched between a Moore’s close-range try as Batley took a 14-0 lead into the break.

But, unlike in recent weeks where the Bulldogs have struggled to hold onto decent leads and positions, Mark Moxon’s men had no intention of letting this one slip, despite Jack Stevens giving the Lions hope at the start of the second half. Back came the Bulldogs though as Copper crashed over from close range and White received an offload from Luke Blake to seal a timely win.

The day also marked Pink Sunday - a family fun day which raised money for breast cancer charities.

The Rams’ miserable campaign continued with a heavy 54-12 defeat at York, who remain above the Bulldogs in the table on points difference.

The home side ran in ten tries while Perry Whiteley and Bailey O’Connor responded for the visitors.

Dewsbury are still 11 points away from safety with only 14 points left to play for.

In the Championship’s other game today, Bradford Bulls thrashed Whitehaven 58-0.