24 Mar 2023

AJ Boardman: First Hornets try a 'sense of exhilaration'

AJ Boardman described his first Rochdale try as a 'sense of exhilaration' as Hornets prepare to face league leaders Dewsbury Rams at the Crown Oil Arena on Sunday.

Boardman scored the decisive try in last weekend's 32-24 victory at Midlands Hurricanes, as Hornets picked up their first two points of the season. 

Tries from Lewis Else and Cian Tyrer saw Hornets race into a 10-0 lead after six minutes, and despite a Midlands fightback, Andy Clarke's try ensured Rochdale led 14-12 at half time. 

Despite Hurricanes taking the lead after the restart - for the only time in the match - tries from Clarke, Boardman and Aiden Roden earnt a hard-fought win in Birmingham. 

Boardman, who signed for Rochdale in October, says he enjoyed playing – and getting the victory – against his former side.

The 33-year-old said: “I didn’t realise just how important the game would be to me playing against my old team.

“Midlands can be a banana skin for sides if they aren’t careful. We played them off the park in the first 10 minutes but we let them back into the game by making errors and conceding rash penalties.

“We were warned at half time in the changing room. They got the first blood after the break but credit to our lads for the quality of resilience they showed when going behind to come back.

Speaking on his try, Boardman added: “It was a sense of exhilaration. It’s always nice to get a good win over a former team, but to score the try that ultimately put us back in front made it an even better moment.”

Hornets were without captain Duane Straugheir and Zac Braham for the clash in the second city, as the duo served one-match suspensions for incidents in the last home league outing against Doncaster. 

Dave Hewitt captained the side in Straugheir’s absence, and despite taking a leading role on and off the pitch, Boardman revealed he does not consider himself to be a leader. 

He said: “I’m the second oldest in the team now, and these young lads coming through will look to me for inspiration and advice.

“I can only pass on what I know and if those words help then so be it. I’m no leader by no means.”

Boardman, along with the Hornets squad, are preparing for a tough home test against league leaders Dewsbury Rams, as they seek revenge for their Third Round Challenge Cup defeat two weeks ago.

Liam Finn's side, who have won all five of their league and cup matches this season, knocked Rochdale out of the cup in West Yorkshire, despite Roden, Callum Green and Toby Brannan crossing for their first Hornets tries.

Although a difficult task awaits Rochdale in front of their home support, Boardman is confident Hornets can record back-to-back wins to end Dewsbury’s unbeaten start. 

He said: “Dewsbury are the ones who are top of the league and promotion favourites – alongside Doncaster – so I think there is more pressure on them.

“At the same time we are playing at home so we will be putting everything on the line to get the two points.

“We’ve assessed the footage back from the Challenge Cup defeat to see where we went wrong, so hopefully we can put things right this time around and get the win.”

Tickets for Sunday's clash against Dewsbury Rams can be bought via the club's website here

Supporters can also purchase tickets on the day in the main reception - for both cash and card - although, we would advise fans to buy online to avoid queues. 

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