Roughyeds out to prove a point

OLDHAM head into tomorrow’s Carnegie Challenge Cup fifth round tie against Gateshead aiming to banish one of the most painful memories of last season.

The 32-18 defeat at the Gateshead International Arena in June represents the only time in seven meetings in which the Roughyeds have ever failed to overturn the side from the north-east.

That loss, though, had significant ramifications. In a game that was evenly poised at 10-10 after half an hour, Thunder scrum-half Dan Russell was controversially given two shots at a conversion due to encroaching by Oldham players near the posts.

After skewing his first attempt, the Aussie made sure second time around to help deny the visitors a bonus point which, given the final make-up of the National League Two table, would have granted Oldham automatic promotion at the expense of Barrow.

While the Roughyeds at least partly avenged that defeat later in the season, comprehensively defeating the eventual champions 40–16 with a rousing display at Sedgley Park, the outcome of the earlier fixture is one that still rankles with those men who played that night — a game which, ironically, was played out only three days after a bruising 46-4 defeat at Wakefield in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals.

James Coyle, who took his season’s tally to nine tries with a double in last week’s 78-10 thrashing of London Skolars, is one such player and he will bid to carry his current good form into a game featuring two high-scoring sides.

While Oldham have rattled up a total of 90 tries in only 13 games this season, Gateshead have themselves been in the points of late, with last week’s 45-42 home win over Doncaster following up a 72-28 loss at Championship leaders Halifax and a 41-36 victory over visiting Sheffield.

With plenty of entertainment set to be on the menu, Gateshead’s former Castleford hooker Andrew Henderson believes that the switch from Thunder’s usual home will pay dividends.

The club is swapping the Gateshead International Stadium for a venue a 45-minute drive away, the Darlington Arena, and Scotland international Henderson is right behind the move.

“We are rugby league’s north east representative and it’s great that we’re taking this game to Darlington,” he said, ahead of County Durham’s first-ever professional rugby league match.

“We are the only professional rugby league club in the area and we want to give every person in the region an opportunity to see the sport.”

New head coach Steve McCormack was only appointed earlier this week and he is already guiding a club in uncharted warriors, with Gateshead never having previously reached the fifth round of the Challenge Cup.

Roughyeds coach Tony Benson has watched a number of the team’s games on DVD and has been impressed by what he has seen, particularly in the shape of former South Sydney and St George scrum-half Luke Branighan.

“Gateshead are possibly stronger than they were last year,” Benson said. “They have certainly improved size-wise and in Luke Branighan they have a strong, talented player with a good kicking game who is everything to them.

“Defensively Gateshead have had issues, but Steve McCormack will look at getting that right. We will have to work hard to score our points.”




OLDHAM St Anne’s are holding their annual presentation night on Saturday from 7.30pm at their Higginshaw Road clubhouse.