Rylands Sharks 34 Eastmoor Dragons 26.

RYLANDS Sharks climbed to fourth place in the National Conference League Division Three table with a hard-fought win over Eastmoor Dragons.

The victory at Gorsey Lane provided the perfect warm-up for their much-anticipated derby with Woolston Rovers tonight, Thursday.

Scrum-half Jack Lewis scored a hat-trick of tries as the Sharks moved to within two points of third-placed Drighlington.

Second rower Nick Braide got the ball rolling to give Rylands the lead after 7 minutes, with Lewis adding the extras.

However, back came the Dragons and tries from Jake McDermott and Ryan Denton gave them a two-point advantage as the first half entered its final stages.

Tyler Whittaker put the hosts back in front before Lewis got his first try before the break to give his side a 16-8 lead.

The hosts came out flying in the second half and a run of three tries in the opening 20 minutes effectively won them the game.

Luke Gillooley was the first to cross before Lewis doubled his try tally for the evening in the 53rd minute.

The scrum-half then completed his hat-trick with a well-taken try and added his fifth conversion to give Rylands a 26-point lead.

To their eternal credit, Eastmoor did not give up and tries from Danny Johnson, Ashley Allman and Jason Roberts ensured a nervy finish for Rylands, but they held on for a vital win.

Rylands: Luke Walker; Aaron Holliday, Gavin Conroy, Luke Gillooley, Adam Thompson; Tyler Whittaker, Jack Lewis; Rob Campbell, Sean Boyle, Mitch McJay, Mike Harrison, Nick Braide, Chris Dean. Subs: Dave Walker, Jack Cosgrove, Brad McAlpine, Ryan Butler.