Rugby returned to Winters Park after a seven week break, it was six weeks since Penrith played at Middlesbrough and their good form continued winning their fourth game on the bounce. It was no easy task though as Rossendale's ranks were strengthened by a number of Southern Hemisphere players and they were a big strong unit. Around the fringes and in close play they were really strong but the wider the ball was spread the more insecure they looked. Penrith had to live on scraps all afternoon and would be lucky if they had 25% of the possession, if they did have the ball; it was never for very long as the visitors dominated territorially for virtually all the game. Rossendale missed an opportunity for an early lead with a badly struck penalty attempt and paid the price shortly after. Penrith broke out when the ball went loose as they defended, Mike Hawley hacked the ball into the visitors 22. The cover looked to have cleared the visitors' line but the clearance kick was fielded by David Preston, the ball was moved to the left and when Gavin Cartmel fed Joe Nattrass out wide, his electric pace and line of running left the cover for dead. After only 12 minutes Nattrass added to his tally, the visitors were penalised in mid-field and Paul Newton quickly moved the ball away from the heavy traffic up front and as the play was spread Rossendale looked at sixes and sevens. Hawley looked to have the line at his mercy but unselfishly played it wide and Nattrass squeezed in at the corner. This time Steve Wood connected sweetly with the conversion for a 12 point lead. Rossendale were still dominating all aspects of the game but were struggling to make any real progress against some aggressive home defence. They posed no threat from distance but did look dangerous if they could get a foot hold in the home 22. The Penrith effort was epitomised when finally Rossendale looked to have broken through and it was prop Glen Carr whose covering tackle on the wing snuffed out the danger. Wood was to put the home side further ahead with a penalty before Rossendale finally saw some reward for their efforts. They had a platform with a lineout in the home 22 which they won and then ground away with phase after phase running close to the breakdown for a try that it was hard to say they did not deserve. The conversion was made and that pulled back the score to 15-7. If the home side thought they had seen little of the ball in the 1st half they saw less in the 2nd but it did not stop them extending their lead. After only five minutes Hawley broke up a back move, sprinted clear, put Nattrass away who could not quite clear the cover. The ball was recycled and when it came to Mike Raine in the centre he threw a dummy to the scrambling defence and went in himself. Wood's conversion moved the score to 22-7 and that looked to be that. For most of the rest of the second period the game looked safe, the visitors had a monopoly of the ball and continued to run it in hard at a defence that continued to keep knocking them down. With seven minutes of proper time to go it all changed. Rossendale finally managed a second converted try; and a penalty on 40 minutes saw them pull back to within a score at 22-17. There was bound to be quite a bit of added time as there had been several stoppages. Penrith did well to retain the ball at the restart and in one of the few forward drives all afternoon took the ball up to the visitors 22. The defence then stupidly handled in the bottom of the ruck and even more stupidly gave another 10m away for backchat. Wood chipped the penalty over to extend the lead to two scores and make the game safe; the drama was not over though. Rossendale continued to press and looked to have a third try as the ball was chipped into the home 22 and fullback Cartmel slipped and lost his feet. The ball ran free, Wood who had had a sound game did well to get to the ball first and rode a couple of tackles before getting the ball away. The field was wide open and Penrith ran out of their 22 and were held up on halfway, they won quick ball and when the ball came back into mid-field Hawley put Cartmel away and his pace was far too much for the remnants of the visitors’ rearguard. In the blink of an eye the talent in the Penrith backs had turned what looked like being a Rossendale bonus point for a narrow defeat into a bonus point for the home side for a fourth try. The score rather flattered the home side and did not reflect the way the game had gone but it was a testament to their dogged determination and an object lesson in how to play a game without the ball.