Thunder show fight at Goole, Cru are the champions, Rams beat Hurricanes and Town down Rochdale.

This afternoon saw Newcastle Thunder go down with another spirited performance at Goole Vikings. Thunder weren't helped by the late withdrawal of key forward Tyler Walton.

The Vikings raced into a 24-0 half time lead and the signs could well have been ominous at that point. But as I keep saying the one thing about this group is they never give up and will continue to fight. Thunder scored a couple of converted tries to take it to 24-12 and Goole scored late on to make a final score of 30-12.

This group have to take some credit as they could've quite easily thought there's nothing to play for for quite a while but they haven't and the last couple of games have shown some real fight and spirit.

Next week sees the final game of the season as they travel to Midlands where I hope they put in a similar kind of performance. For Goole they host high flying Workington next Saturday.

Cru are the champions

North Wales wrapped up the league title aided by a first half display which blew Keighley away. Crusaders led 30-0 at half time, Keighley then rallied in the second half and the final score was 30-16. Despite a late season wobble, Crusaders fully deserve their league title after a dominant first half of the season. A shout out to their fans who on the twice they've been up to Blaydon have been brilliant ambassadors for their club. I hope everyone enjoys their celebrations! Crusaders title tour takes them to Whitehaven next weekend, while a disappointing season comes to an end for Keighley who finish in ninth place.

Rams put Midlands to the sword

I had this one down as a tight game and how wrong was I! Midlands early season promise has gone to pot in the second half of the season. Although I think they'll look to recruit well for next season, they may be asking questions of where their form has gone. For Dewsbury it was a brilliant 40-4 victory, a victory that takes them up to fourth in the league, for Midlands they sit in sixth place.

Town down Rochdale

Another close one was predicted at Workington. Again, I was wrong! Workington turned on the style and blew Rochdale away in a first half that ended 32-0. The second half was a much tighter affair with the game ending 36-4. That victory secures second place for Workington in League 1 in what has been a really good season for them. They can enjoy their trip to Goole next weekend. As for Rochdale, I think they could be a bit disappointed. They currently sit in fifth place and next weekend they have a tough looking home game against Dewsbury.