TRAFFORD MV's losing start to the North Lancs/Cumbria Division continued with a 50-22 defeat at Tarleton but they did pick up a consolation bonus point.

From the first whistle it was one-way traffic and with only minutes on the clock a score was on the board with a converted try for the hosts.

MV tried hard to get a foothold but a second try followed quickly as strong forward drives forced Tarleton over in the corner and then another converted try made it 19-0.

MV urgently needed to stem the flow and better set-piece ball saw a gradual swing in fortunes.

Some solid forward drives and good back-row support brought a try for stand-off Stuart Crampton, converted by Pat Eccles.

The forwards now had a bit more fight in their play and centre Andrew Moore crossed wide on the left to reduce the arrears further before half time.

But after the interval the home side regained the ascendency with a penalty followed by two converted tries opening up a convincing 36-12 lead.

MV kept fighting but a converted breakaway try for the hosts increased their lead.

To their credit, Trafford came right back as number eight Danny Burke broke through the defence to scramble over for a try.

Then, from a line-out, a good catch-and-drive gave MV a fourth-try bonus point when scrum-half Eccles sneaked over and converted.

But Tarleton rounded off their good performance with another converted try to seal victory to move to top spot in the league.

The bonus point nudged MV off the bottom ahead of Fleetwood and level on points with Eccles ahead of this weekend's home clash with Aspatria.