MK kicked off under ominous skies at The Valley, and immediately applied pressure to the St Ives defence - with Stewart Tomkinson held up over the line from an early attack.

But it was St. Ives who struck first after an even few early exchanges, their runner exploiting a gap in the MK defence to charge through. They soon powered over again to double the lead 12-0.

Some great hands and teamwork saw Gav Whitehead score in the corner for MK, but the touchline conversion missed the target.

St Ives then hit a 3-try salvo to take it to 4-30, before MK captain Scott Aspinall crossed for the Wolves.

The final score of the half went to the Roosters - taking the scores at the break to 10-34.

A very physical first half had taken its toll on both sides, and tempers were beginning to fray - and MK Captain Scott Aspinall saw yellow for getting a bit too up close and personal to his opposite man. With MK reduced to 12 men for a period, St Ives used the advantage to score again.

This, however, simply served to galvanise the MK side - Fullback John Marchbank playing out of his skin slipped the tiring Roosters defence and crossed for a try which was swiftly followed up by Dan Rolfe getting in on the scoresheet, and with Aspinall back on, again Marchbank weaved through the St Ives defence to score under the posts narrowing the deficit to 26-40.

There was plenty of fight in both sides, and St Ives had the final say of the game, crossing twice to round things off at 26-50.

Head coach Abe Kerr said, "It was a real game of two halves - St Ives definitely had the upper hand in the first half, but a far more even 2nd half saw MK play closer to their potential.

"In our opening game last season, St Ives put 90 past us, so it shows we have clearly improved, and there are plenty of positives to take from that performance, and I was very proud of how we battled in that second half."

Elsewhere in the East Premier League, Southend lost to North Herts 6-66, and Bedford were beaten at home by Kings Lynn 16-38 - results that leave us 4th in the table (P3 W1 L2).

Next up, we turn our attention to the East RL Cup, and an away trip to Cambridge next Saturday (31st May).

The day had started with a mid-day kick-off and first run-out of the season for MK's U16s, with the Young Wolves putting in a comprehensive and mature performance against a well-drilled and experienced Hemel Stags U16s. MK surged to an early lead, before indiscipline allowed Hemel to creep back into contention, but the MK boys knuckled down to turn the screw, and ended up with a very satisfying 50-26 victory.