Dan Orwin's Hoppers were looking to continue their good form on the back of a free scoring win against high-flying Hull Ionians but it was the hosts who started out better.

Jamie Lane with the first two tries of the game for Billingham, the scrum half with an impressive performance.

Luke Wilson was able to convert both tries and give the Durham outfit a 14-point lead after 25 minutes.

The second try was a wakeup call for Hoppers however, Hugo Castle with a huge hit on the kick chase to force a knock-on which Hoppers made great use of.

The ball switched out wide to Sam Freeman who played a delightful kick for Owain Williams to score in the corner, Freeman aptly converted the try to cut the deficit in half.

And it wasn't long before the visitors were level with Williams grabbing his second try of the afternoon.

The try this time originating from a Hoppers scrum under the posts, Richardson with some quick thinking to get the ball into play before it was déjà vu for Williams who went over in the same corner as his first try with Freeman levelling it up with his second conversion.

Hoppers would be hoping to carry their momentum into the second half but that wasn't to be the case. Billingham with three unanswered tries to put the game out of the Lancashire sides reach.

Anth Jackson, Eldon Myers and Louie Groark all scored for the hosts with Wilson converting two of the tries to extend the hosts lead to 19.

Hoppers showed some great determination and grit though, applying lots of pressure to get back into the game.

They were finally rewarded when Zephyr Maher scored Hoppers third of the afternoon with Freeman continuing his perfect conversion game.

Billingham put the cherry on top of a good performance to seal the win when Jonny Horner went over in the final minutes.

There was still time for Hoppers to head back to Lancashire with a bonus point. Harry Holden shrugging off a Billingham defender to power himself over and earn Hoppers a point.

Freeman converted as usual and the referee ended the game, Hoppers 28 to Billingham's 38.

Although Preston Grasshoppers head coach Dan Orwin was disappointed with the result on the day he acknowledged there was still positives to take including the debut of Josh Ryan and praised his teams attitude in the second half of the season to turn around their form.

Louis Jefferson