In a bruising battle at Lord Street, both teams produced ferocious defence but it was the Gladiators who demonstrated immense determination to repel a wave of Rhinos attacks.

Cadishead defended gallantly too but the weight of possession and some smart attacking moves opened them up as Chester ran in eight tries to maintain a fantastic start to the season.

Joel Gibbs, operating at dummy half for the first time, opened the scoring before Ben Stelmaszek added to his impressive tally to stretch the lead.

Daniel Munt came off the bench to increase the advantage and Aled Davies stepped through the line as the Gladiators went into half-time with a commanding lead.

Cadishead fought hard to get themselves back into the contest in the second period but could not break the resistance of the Chester defence with man of the match Craig Wardle leading the fight.

And it was the Gladiators who kept the scoreboard ticking over with tries for Mike Walker and two for in-form fullback Cameron Hogg.

A flare up led to the referee reaching for his pocket as Mark Kingsley's game came to a premature end before Jonny Rae crossed the whitewash, although the Rhinos did get themselves on the board late on.