Bolton were seeking revenge for the Bowl Final defeat from the previous season and it was evident from stand in Captain Daniel Joseph's team talk where he shot from the hip that Bolton would have to earn the right to take the points from the field of battle as Garstang never gave victory easily from their home field.

Bolton were well prepared for the inevitable Garstang onslaught with Coach Nick Holmes having picked his own pack to counter the traditional threat of a heavy Garstang pitch coupled with a well drilled set of forwards. From the off Bolton looked the more dangerous pack with both ruck and maul being won on a regular basis which was used to great effect by the new half back pairing of Nick Sandbrook and Mark Doherty to release Bate and Waddicar in the centres on numerous forays into the opposition back line.

The first try came from a concerted amount of Bolton pressure where Bolton spun the ball right, recycled at speed to give Marcus O’Donohoe the easiest opening try of the game in the left hand corner.

Bolton were immediately back in the ascendency from eh kick off with a turned over scrum ball being used to release first Doherty and then Waddicar to take a neat one handed pass to cross under the sticks for the second of the day - ably converted by Doherty. Bolton were unfortunately not as apt on the restart and were put under good pressure by the Garstang pack who drove deep into Bolton territory. Resilient defence from Crow, McClaughlin and Critchlow saw Garstang forced into a penalty. Bate booted long down the field but missed a much needed touch to relieve some pressure however a good chase from Marcus O Donohue put the shaky Garstang full back under pressure and he sliced the ball into touch around the Garstang ten yard line.

Whilst all the other players milled around awaiting the line out to form, eagle eyed scrum half Doherty saw the chance for a quick line out and fed back row Ormes who set off an a gangly run towards the Garstang line before slipping the ball inside to the supporting Stryker to cross the line for Bolton's second much to the amazement of the watching Bolton supporters.

Bolton scented a good lead was there to be built and within minutes they were back in the Garstang half where a zig zagging run to the line by Daryl McDowell saw him pulled down just short. A quick recycle of the ball led to it being fed out to the back line..... which happened to include the Bolton prop Manny Tailor who was making his first appearance of the season. He gratefully pocketed the ball and despite support outside of him he cut back inside stepping two defenders to cross under the post for the third of the game. Again the conversion proved easy for Doherty. Bolton were fully in the ascendency at this stage with Garstang looking shell shocked by the battering they had received.

Bolton reached half time leading 24 - 0 and looking for all the world like they would go on to win this with some ease. However Garstang had other ideas and the second half rapidly turned in the sort of nightmare Bolton had experienced at Hutton earlier in the year when they had surrendered a 21- 0 lead to the opposition. Immediately from the kick off Bolton stupidly gave away a needless penalty for a late hit in the Garstang fly half and from the subsequent penalty Garstang opted for touch and the lineout. Despite the best attentions of the Bolton pack the well drilled Garstang forwards gathered the ball from the line out and rolled it over the Bolton try line to score their first points with the conversion added.

This score was to give Garstang the hope that they needed and they attacked immediately from kick off with last minute breaks being halted by both Bate and Joseph on the cover to deny the dangerous looking left winger for Garstang. Further last ditch defence from O Donohue saved the day and Bolton were looking shaky. From this continued pressure Garstang again achieved good field possession and following a rampaging run from their rambunctious number 8 they crossed again for another score thanks to weak tackling from the Bolton defence.

Bolton were to suffer further as number 8 Matthew Parrish was forced from the field with a shoulder injury and prop Manny Tailor left the field with a leg injury bringing both Makinson and Hardman into the fray off the bench. This problem was further compounded when youngster Critchlow left the field with a hamstring injury. Some reshuffling saw Joe Waller brought onto the wing.

Bolton were being stretched to their limits now as Garstang saw the chance to take back the game. Continued Garstang drives were repelled by the Bolton pack with Ormes and McClaughlin working overtime with the bravery of John Stryker staying on the pitch with a hand injury was an inspiration to the Bolton troops. Twice Garstang attempted to roll their line out over the line but were denied by some old school defending from the Bolton ranks. The game degenerated into a traditional arm wrestle between the packs with Bolton refusing to be bullied by the more "enthusiastic" tactics of the opposition which resulted in a few verbal's and boots being exchanged in the tight.

Two bright sparks of play illuminated the dour second half with centre Will Bate providing some much needed respite from the defence with a break out, from the following ruck, up popped veteran prop Gareth "Taff" Evans with a barn storming run to break the Garstang defence and storm into their half. One last scrum and line out saw Bolton hold the middle ground and wind the clock down before the ref blew for full time - much to the relief of the Bolton braves who were left feeling battered and bruised but victorious for the fourth time in a row.

The win secured a move up the table for Bolton above Garstang however they will need to be wary in their next fixture against North Manchester to ensure that a team that they lost to twice last year do not dent this winning run.