Women’s Championship North Round 4

Leigh Miners Rangers, Twist Lane; Sunday 21 April 2024 (noon)

Leigh Leopards 48-4 Dewsbury Moor

Leopards made it four wins out of four in Championship North as Hattie Dogus spearheaded a ten-try victory over Dewsbury Moor with a sparkling hat-trick.

The Leopards fullback was an attacking threat throughout the afternoon, joining the line to perfection and running the visitors ragged with her fast and elusive breaks.

Not just a finisher but a creator, Dogus also had a hand in several more tries and it was a measure of the Leopards’ fluency that their first seven tries were scored by backs, until the forwards got in on the scoring act in the closing stages.

Dogus set the ball rolling with a fine try after only 58 seconds as Leopards shot out of the blocks, cutting through on the left edge.

Leopards were at their best in the first quarter as further tries by Toryn Blackwood, Mollie Young and Freya Turner were all the result of excellent handling across the line as halfbacks Rhianna Burke and Leah Morris shrewdly dictated play in the middle.

When they had to, the Leopards defended with resolution, but their line was pierced once when Moor hooker Courtney Lettice crashed over from dummy half after a sustained spell of pressure.

The visitors put together some good spells of attack in the first half and look more than capable of holding their own in the Championship.

Dogus cut through on the right for her second try just before half-time and completed her hat-trick three minutes after the resumption, dummying to pass then scything through the defence.

The second half was all about how many Leopards would score, as they reached the 40-mark for the third successive time in the league.

With several Moor players needing treatment and visibly flagging as the disparity in fitness standards became more prevalent, the constant stoppages disrupted the Leopards’ flow.

But they retained their focus for Blackwood to finish off another sparkling move with Charlotte Melvin providing the assist.

Forwards Kate Howard, who scooted over from dummy half, Eleanor Dainty, who crashed over by the side of the posts and Claire Collins, after some super footwork, added further tries in the closing stages, Melvin adding four conversions in all.

Leopards would surely have passed the 50-mark had not the referee added only two minutes of added time when he might easily have added fifteen.

Leopards head to West Yorkshire next Sunday for Round 5, taking on the Castleford Tigers at Castleford Panthers ARLFC (2pm). The Leopards will have noted that last month Dewsbury Moor won 42-0 at Tigers.

Leopards

1 Hattie Dogus; 2 Toryn Blackwood, 12 Charlotte Melvin, 22 Mollie Young, 28 Freya Turner; 6 Rhianna Burke, 7 Leah Morris; 10 Mairead Quinn (capt), 9 Kate Howard, 20 Eleanor Dainty, 11 Keli Morris, 25 Olivia Boyham, 18 Grace Hill

Bench: 13 Claire Collins, 15 Sam Brazier, 24 Abi Gordon, 23 Georgia Mole

Tries: Dogus (1, 38, 43), Blackwood (6, 57), Young (9), Turner (18), Howard (65), Dainty (73), Collins (80)

Goals: Melvin 4/ 10

Moor

1 Faith McKay; 2 Charlotte Jayne McDaid, 3 Martha Watson, 4 Lydia Fawkes, 5 Kaitlin Varley; 6 Courtney Marsh, 7 Scarlett Hartley; 8 Cheryl Asheley Foudji, 9 Courtney Lettice, 10 Sophie Duffy, 11 Grace Firth, 12 Cody-Lou Marsh, 13 Chelsea Bradley

Bench:

21 Caroline Johnson, 22 Millie Dearn, 23 Charlotte Keeligan, 25 Anabelle Morley

Try: Lettice (28)

Scoring sequence: 4-0, 8-0, 12-0, 16-0, 16-4, 20-4 (ht) 26-4, 32-4, 36-4, 42-4, 48-4

Penalty count: 6-6