MATCH PREVIEW | HORNETS V NORTH WALES CRUSADERS

Rochdale Hornets welcome North Wales Crusaders to the Crown Oil Arena as Betfred League 1 action returns.

Overview
Fixture: Rochdale Hornets v North Wales Crusaders
Competition: Betfred League One
Date: Sunday 7 May
Kick-off: 15:00
Venue: Crown Oil Arena

Rochdale Hornets
Hornets have endured a tough start to the campaign, which has seen recent defeats to Oldham and Workington Town.
Gary Thornton’s side, who have not played since 16 April, will be looking to pick up their first two league points of the season in front of their home support.
Lewis Else, who scored twice in Hornets’ 29-28 defeat to Workington, will be aiming to add to his try scoring tally, which has seen the stand-off cross four times.

North Wales Crusaders
Sunday’s visitors are still searching for their first league win of the season, after losing all five of their matches.
Due to the fixture schedule, North Wales haven’t played since a narrow 20-18 defeat at Workington on 7 April.
Crusaders led 18-6 at the break in Cumbria after scoring three tries in half an hour, however, Town fought back to win the match with a penalty at the death.
North Wales were knocked out the Challenge Cup in the fourth round to Championship Keighley Cougars, after defeating the Royal Navy and Thatto Heath.

Head to Head
Hornets will be aiming to record back-to-back wins over North Wales after they were victorious the last time the sides met.
Dan Nixon and Dan Brewin, who have been named in the initial Rochdale squad for tomorrow, were on the scoresheet in a 36-20 victory.
Crusaders have won three of the last five meetings against Hornets, which includes a 36-34 on their last visit to the Crown Oil Arena.

Team News
Hornets have battled absences in recent weeks, which includes injuries to captain Duane Straugheir and Ben O’Keefe, who miss out on Sunday.
However, Will Cooke and Joe Purcell return to the 21-man squad, along with new signings Umlya Hanley, Nick Rawsthorne and Dan Spencer-Tonks.
Hornets 21-man-squad: Jack Arnold, Cameron Berry, Toby Brannan, Dan Brewin, Andy Clarke, Will Cooke, Lewis Else, Luke Forber, Ben Forster, Umyla Hanley, Dave Hewitt, Sion Jones, Ben Killan, Dan Nixon, Ethan O’Hanlon, Joe Purcell, Connor Ratcliffe, Nick Rawsthorne, Aiden Roden, Dan Spencer-Tonks and Cian Tyrer.

Ticketing information
Tickets for the visit of Crusaders are available to purchase both online and from the main reception on matchday, with cash and card accepted.
In order to avoid queues, we advise tickets to be bought in advance via our website here!
If you cannot attend, live updates will be tweeted out via our Twitter account here!