Hobson: Three is magic number

Date published: 28 March 2013


MARK Hobson says Oldham CAN make it three wins out of three in the Good Friday derby against Rochdale Hornets at Whitebank (kick-off 3pm)

There isn’t much between them and, having suffered two defeats by their fierce local rivals in six weeks, Hornets will be hell-bent on sweet revenge on the first day of the Kingstone Press Championship One campaign.

“We’ll be ready for the backlash,” said Hobson, Oldham’s 26-year-old loose-forward, who was a Rochdale player for four seasons before relocating to the Roughyeds last autumn.

Rochdale were perhaps marginally the better side in the Law Cup clash at Spotland in February, but Oldham found a way to win 22-20.

Three weeks later, at Whitebank, Roughyeds gave their best all-round performance since Scott Naylor became coach to win 26-10 in the Northern Rail Cup and to dominate from start to finish.

Deflated Hornets boss Ian Talbot, who brought in dual-registered Lee Gaskell from St Helens to provide additional attacking guile, said Hornets had mistakenly tried to out-muscle Roughyeds forwards up the middle.

Assuming Talbot won’t want to see Hornets erring twice, will they plan to go wide and move the ball from wing-to-wing?

Hobson said: “They’ll target our fringes.

“They haven’t done much up the middle in the last two games, so they’ll attempt to hurt us on the edges.

“Things have moved on since I left Rochdale, particularly following their link-up with Saints. But they’ve still got the same go-to players in Steven Roper, Wayne English and Paul Crook, three we need to watch closely.

“We haven't seen the best of Rochdale, nor have they seen the best of us.”

Naylor won’t name his team until training tonight, but he is expected to pick from the 17 who won in Neath last Sunday plus skipper Lewis Palfrey, Sam Gee, Danny Samuel and Michael Ward.

Rochdale have injury doubts concerning skipper Wayne English, Jordan Case, Mike Ratu and Dayne Donoghue.

Oldham (from): Lepori, Agoro, Cookson, Nield, Bloomfield, Roden, Dallimore, Gilchrist, Files, Boults, Crowley, Langtree, Hobson, Joy, Tyrer, Hughes, Marriott, Palfrey, Gee, Samuel, Ward.

Hornets (from): English, Langley, Stewart, Sutton, Crook, Roper, Cookson, McLurg, Thompson, Baines, Donoghue, Case, Trumper, Lloyd, Davies, Waring, Frodsham, Ainscough, Bate, Walker, Ratu, Hull, Goodman, Llewellyn, Hough.
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