BEN FORSTER: WE NEED TO BUILD ON NEWCASTLE WIN

Rochdale Hornets forward Ben Forster insists last weekend's emphatic 68-4 victory over Newcastle Thunder will count for little if they fail to back it up at North Wales Crusaders this Sunday.

The Hornets returned to winning ways and climbed to fifth in the table after running in 12 tries against Thunder at the Crown Oil Arena.

Next up, they travel to Colwyn Bay to face a North Wales side that have won three of their opening four league games this season - the only defeat coming last time out away at unbeaten Keighley Cougars by a scoreline of 22-6.

North Wales also reached the Betfred League 1 promotion play-off final last season, and Forster is wary of the difficultly facing them at Stadiwm CSM in Round 6. 

"We need to back up the performance against Newcastle and build on what we did last weekend," he said.

"It's a tough place to go and they're going well. It's a massive game for us, and we need to get the win." 

Forster put in a Man of the Match display against Newcastle last time out as the Hornets ran riot to collect their first home league win of the 2024 campaign. 

Despite not adding his name to the scoresheet, the 23-year-old was delighted with the collective effort of his side's performance.

"I think we needed that as a group," he added.

"We've struggled for the last three weeks, so we had a big week in training [ahead of the Newcastle game] and ramped up the intensity.

"I think it's my first one [Man of the Match] since being here too! It's always nice, but I didn't expect it. 

"I would've liked [to get a try], but setting them up is just as good for me - I always want to be a team player."

Join us on Sunday 5 May as we celebrate our Superhero Day against Cornwall - adult tickets cost £10, and kids go FREE!