Anxious wait for Gillam

JOHN Gillam, Oldham RL Club’s injured winger, will see a specialist today to get a progress report on the facial wounds he sustained against Whitehaven a fortnight ago.

“I’ll have a better idea of how long I will be out when I’ve seen the specialist,” said Gillam, who suffered a broken nose and a suspected fractured eye socket when he was buried under a heap of defenders.

He was one of several first-team regulars who didn’t play in yesterday’s 66-12 win against Gateshead Thunder on the opening day of Co-operative Championship One.

Lucas Onyango was serving the second game of a two-match ban. He will be back in contention for the game against Workington Town at Derwent Park on Sunday.

Dave Ellison and John Clough had training schedules disrupted by work commitments last week, so they didn’t make the side, although they will presumably be back in the running for weekend providing they can train normally.

Also absent was joint vice-captain Marcus St Hilaire, who picked up a recurrence of hamstring trouble in the Challenge Cup win over Hunslet Warriors.

Hooker Martin Roden retired after 20 minutes of yesterday’s game after tweaking a hamstring.

Nevertheless, there were so many good performances that coach Tony Benson will have plenty of choice if Ellison, Clough, Onyango and St Hilaire are back in the frame this week.

Matthew Fogarty, Liam Gilchrist and Danny Whitmore all grabbed the opportunity to press their claims for further recognition this week.

Seven of the 17 in a young side were Oldham-born and five of the seven — Fogarty, Ben Wood, Jack Bradbury, Chris Clarke and Whitmore — were aged 21 or under, as were Ben Heaton, Gilchrist and Tom Wood-Hulme.

“An all-Oldham three-quarter line was a first for the club and that’s the direction the club is heading in. It’s the way we want to go,” said club chairman Chris Hamilton.