Workington Town clinched eighth spot on the final afternoon of the regular season as they rose above rivals Whitehaven and stayed ahead of Batley Bulldogs. 

Town went into yesterday’s game at Hunslet knowing they needed nothing less than a win after Whitehaven’s superb 29-0 victory against Featherstone on Saturday evening which saw James Coyle’s men move up to eighth in the table. 

But Town leapfrogged Haven with a 30-6 win over Hunslet and they earned a highly coveted fourth home fixture for the Super 8s phase of the competition.

After finishing in eighth place, Workington will now play Featherstone, Batley, Whitehaven and Doncaster at home and will travel to face Dewsbury, London and Hunslet. 

Whitehaven, after being pushed down to 10th place, will play London, Hunslet and Doncaster at home and will go on the road to play Featherstone, Dewsbury, Town and Batley away in their final seven games. 

Crucially, Workington’s win over Hunslet gave both West Cumbrian teams some breathing room over the side currently 11th in the table. 

Town are five points ahead of the Hawks and Haven have a four-point advantage. 

After his side’s win yesterday, Town boss Phil Veivers said: “Finishing eighth was the focus and we wanted to get that result to get that fourth home game. 

“Nobody saw Haven winning on Saturday. Featherstone are average by all accounts but Haven played well. 

“It shows everyone is capable of beating everyone else in the final seven games. Our performance on the day took care of the result and we’d have needed a win as Batley beat Dewsbury. 

“We’ve given the boys a week off and they’ll come back recharged for the Super 8s. The week off is massive, they’ve had a long season up to now.” 

The fixtures for the Super 8s will be released on Wednesday morning and both Town and Haven will return to action on the weekend of August 15 and 16.

Fixtures

Home: Featherstone, Batley, Whitehaven, Doncaster. Away: Dewsbury, London, Hunslet