MATCH PREVIEW: ROCHDALE HORNETS V MIDLANDS HURRICANES (BETFRED LEAGUE ONE ROUND NINE)

Hornets fire up propaganda machine ahead of Saturday’s clash

Its been almost three weeks after our Betfred League One match against North Wales Crusaders on Easter Saturday, but rugby league is finally back for Canes fans as we make one of the shorter away trips to Rochdale Hornets this Saturday!

The Canes have had their best start to a Betfred League One season to date, with Midlands sitting just one point behind league leaders North Wales Crusaders and second-placed Swinton Lions (despite having two games in hand with respect to the latter). Away victories against Goole Vikings (14-16), Keighley Cougars (24-26) and Newcastle Thunder (6-54) have been combined with a home victory over Dewsbury Rams (46-12) and a draw with Workington Town (16-16) at The Alex. That form saw the Canes go into their last game with a record five-game unbeaten streak, however a strong second-half from North Wales saw the visitors leave Birmingham with an 18-31 victory.

Since then, the Canes have had plenty of time to reflect on what went right and wrong during the North Wales game and seek to put the latter correct against the Hornets. With our planned away game against Cornwall last weekend cancelled following their withdrawal from the league, the Canes also took the chance to get into the local community as they met with fans at our “Be A Cane” event at Bournville Rugby Club on Saturday. Fans will get another opportunity to attend a community day at our home game v Whitehaven, with discounted advance price tickets available and fans saving well over 1/3 compared to on-the-gate prices!

Turning to our hosts, some loud but indistinct buzzing has been reported online with both Chairman Andy Mazey and the Hornets social media team joining a number of others who have made some amusing (and unfounded) claims about our playing budget following a strong start to the League One season. Whilst both clubs Chairman have traded (and will no doubt continue to trade) light-hearted jibes over social media, we have no doubt that Head Coaches Mark Dunning and Gary Thornton will be focusing intently on their teams and will be encouraging them to ignore the noise surrounding what everybody will be expecting to be an entertaining contest at the Crown Oil Arena.

In terms of recent history the Hornets had a very strong season last year, finishing third with 27 points from a possible 40 and defeating Hunslet (30-18) and Keighley Cougars (26-22) in the play-offs before being eliminated by Hunslet (26-46) in the Preliminary Final. Their 2023 season was less successful, with the Hornets only finishing two points above the Canes in seventh and missing out on the play-offs, but that was arguably a blip as the previous season saw a strong finish in 2022 as they finished fifth and once again made it to the Preliminary Final (beating Oldham 38-24 and North Wales 20-36) before succumbing 52-20 to Doncaster in the play-offs.

This season, the Hornets currently find themselves sixth place in the table with eight points from a possible twelve, but only one point behind Workington in third, the Canes in fourth and Dewsbury Rams in fifth (although the Town, the Canes and Rochdale have two games in hand over the Rams). The Hornets started their season with a dominant 44-0 win over winless Keighley Cougars, followed by a swift 68-0 dispatching of Cornwall at home (that result being expunged following Cornwall’s withdrawal from the league in April). A narrow 24-20 loss to Whitehaven away and a 20-34 loss to Workington temporarily derailed the Hornets’ momentum, however the hosts come into this weekend on the back of a three-game winning streak (18-32 v Dewsbury, 8-7 v Swinton and 50-6 v Goole) and will be looking to add to that momentum.

In terms of head-to-head contests, the Canes would have to look back to 2021 for their first and only victory over Rochdale with a 38-30 win over the Hornets at the Butts Park Arena. Last season saw the two sides compete three times and the collective points difference between the Canes and the Hornets was 18 points, with Rochdale emerging victorious 24-20 (in the Challenge Cup), 28-38 (at the Alex) and 14-10 (at the Crown Oil Arena). With both teams boasting strong squads and the clubs’ respective Chairman trading friendly barbs on social media, Saturday’s clash promises to be a great viewing experience for every fan in attendance.

Squads will be announced at midday tomorrow. In terms of away travel, the Midlands Hurricanes Supporters Club are putting on a Supporters Bus from The Alexander Stadium to the Crown Oil Arena, for ££30 per person, leaving The Alex at 11.30am on Saturday. The bus is already 2/3 full, but you can secure your place on the bus now by contacting the Supporters Club on Facebook (Midlands Hurricanes Supporters Club), X (@HurricanesRLSC) or Instagram (@HurricanesRLSC).

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