The Qualifiers: Hull KR survive Halifax scare

Hull KR fought back to beat Halifax 26-22 in their opening game of The Qualifiers.

Ben Heaton scored four tries as excellent Halifax almost upset Rovers, looking for a return to Super League, on their own patch.

Nick Scruton’s converted try six minutes from the end proved decisive, much to the relief of the home supporters.

Halifax, as they did two seasons ago, emerged with great credit from their performance as they showed that they may well have a say on who plays in Super League this season, if not themselves.

Catalans also survived a scare on Saturday night when they held on to beat London Broncos 20-18.

The Broncos led twice in the first half, and were trailing 12-10 at the break.

Jarrod Sammut tied things up with a penalty, before Luke Walsh nudged the Dragons back in front.

Louis Anderson’s converted try on 67 minutes put a bit of breathing space between the two teams, and Mark Ioane’s score at the death was too little too late.

Elsewhere, Leigh eased past Featherstone 38-12 to sit at the top of The Qualifiers after the first weekend.

Recent signing Daniel Mortimer opened the scoring and helped inspire the Centurions to a seven-try victory against a side that their owner Derek Beaumont had claimed would be the toughest test in the competition.