Thunder ‘ready’ for challenge

Oldham’s Danny Whitmore evades a Gateshead player during the last meeting of the two sides, won by Oldham 32-14.

AS Oldham’s players were leaving Gateshead after their 32-14 win in June, Thunder boss Stanley Gene was already looking ahead to payback time.

The former Papua New Guinea forward Thunder lead 14-6 before crumbling to an impressive Oldham fightback, which yielded five unanswered tries.

Stanley wasn’t impressed: “Your kicking game killed us,” he told Oldham officials. “But you come up here again and we’ll be ready for you.”

Since then both teams have gone from strength to strength, Oldham winning five out of six and Gateshead five out of seven. They go head-to-head again in the International Stadium on Sunday (3pm) when both teams will be striving to enhance their respective positions in the play-off pecking order.

Roughyeds need the three points to put them within 80 minutes of second spot behind York in the final table. Thunder need maximum points to clinch fourth place and a home tie against Gloucester or Hemel in the play-offs.

Oldham regard Sunday’s trip to the North-East, as they have said often enough, as one of their toughest and most important games of the season.

Thunder’s only defeat in their last five games was a 34-30 loss at leaders York — a clear indication of their transformation from early season and ammunition for those followers of the sport at this level who are starting to champion them as play-off dark horses.