A dominant first half display was enough to secure Leek a bonus point win over visitors Rochdale and consolidate their position in the top half of Regional 1 North West.

But a lacklustre second half during which their discipline deserted them took the shine off their first game of 2026.

The Moorlanders' choice of a power pack paid dividends as they bullied the Rochdale forwards throughout the opening period, dominating the scrums and mauls, winning penalties galore and setting up field positions from which the tries flowed.

The hosts were on the board early. Scott Rawlings' penalty attempt fell just short, but Dale failed to clear their line. The Leek pack wrestled the ball back for scrum half James Milan to dart over for the opening score, converted by Rawlings.

Leek continued to dominate possession and territory and Oli Powell and Josh Nadin claimed close range tries after prolonged periods of forward pressure.

A quick break saw the visitors get themselves on the board, but Joe Byrne, returning after six weeks out with a shoulder injury, restored the advantage with the bonus point try on the half hour mark. The Blue and Whites could easily have had a couple more during a one-sided first half, and went into the break 24-5 ahead.

Seventeen year old Oscar Powell came on to make his debut at the start of the second half. From the Rochdale kick off, Joel Booth fielded the ball and fed the young tyro, who broke two tackles to make good ground on his first carry - a great sign of things to come.

It looked like we were in for a try fest when wing Sam Brereton outpaced the Dale defence to claim Leek's fifth. Prop Lewis Dunleavy then charged down a clearing kick, regathered and crossed the line to make it 34-5.

But the game is never won with 30 minutes still to play. Just as in the reverse fixture in October, Leek relaxed, their discipline failed and the visitors began to boss the game, with their fly half and open side to the fore.

Joel Booth, George Hunt and Milan all saw yellow for various transgressions and Dale were suddenly on the front foot. They scored three tries to claim a bonus point and then, with the final play of the game, got another to earn a second bonus point and make the final score much closer than the balance of play would suggest. Plenty for Leek to reflect on ahead of their rearranged game at Burton next Saturday.

Leek 2s rallied strongly to claim a losing bonus point at Trentham in the latest of their fixtures against Staffordshire 1st XVs.

The ever-reliable Harry Byrne claimed his latest try to open the scoring for the Blue & Whites after just four minutes. In a tight first half contest, Trentham managed just one score in reply to make it 5-7 at the break.

A penalty and two quick tries saw the hosts take the lead. Kin Critchlow pulled one back and Byrne's second narrowed the gap to allow Jay Wilkinson's last-minute penalty to secure the bonus point with a final score of 26-20.

A valiant second half comeback fell just short for the 3rd XV as they went down at East Manchester, 32-31.

Earlier in the day, the Leek Academy continued their winning ways with a comfortable victory over visitors Burntwood. Unconverted tries from Jake and Tommy gave the Moorlanders a 10-0 lead at half time. Charlie B, Ashton and Finn added scores in the third quarter but then Leek got on the wrong side of the referee. Three yellow cards followed, the visitors claimed a consolation score and the game ended 27-5.