It’s win or bust for Roughyeds

Lee Greenwood: Try tally into double figures.

THREE must-win matches are left in Oldham’s season.

Tony Benson’s men travel to Blackpool on Sunday (3pm kick off) and then have games against York at home and, following a break for the Carnegie Challenge Cup final weekend, Hunslet away.

All these sides are jostling for the prime play-off spots in Co-operative Championship One and every fixture promises to fully test the mettle of the players.

But while some may opt to cast glances ahead to York or Hunslet, the bare facts state that neither of those sides is in as good form as the revitalised Panthers.

Coach Martin Crompton, formerly a Bears captain in the Super League days, has assembled a very useful Blackpool outfit that is now unrecognisable from that which went on a record run of 45 successive defeats between July, 2006, and April of last year.

Star man is exciting full-back Jonny Leather, recently linked with a switch to Salford, while new centre signing Sam Reay, formerly of Wigan and Leigh, is also highly-rated and played at stand-off in the 48-18 win at Hornets RL last week — the team’s fifth victory in six matches.

It will certainly be anything but a walk in the park for the Roughyeds at the Woodlands Memorial Ground.

The first barrier to be overcome is psychological. The Panthers’ home venue at Fylde held last month’s Northern Rail Nines tournament in which a horribly depressing overall experience for the Roughyeds led Benson to look back on it as his “lowest point” since joining the club.

Thankfully, though an unwanted air of uncertainty continues to linger behind the scenes at Oldham at this crucial stage of the season, events on the field have recently taken an upward turn.

The 48-28 home victory over Rochdale showed just what the remaining players are capable of producing and though the follow-up 28-22 win over London Skolars last week was a close-run thing, it demonstrated that Benson’s side have a new-found ability to squeeze home in tight matches. Two of Oldham’s last three defeats came by mere two points, against York (20-18) and Keighley (24-22).

Against Skolars, though, a pair of tries in the final five minutes from Thomas Coyle and Lee Greenwood — the latter moving level on 10 league tries for the season with departed fellow winger Andy Ballard — brought about a precious three points which keeps the Roughyeds in second place.

The trick now is to stay there to earn the right to play at home in the elimination semi-final against the side finishing third. The winners of that clash get a pass through to the play-off final.

Former Oldham Bears chairman John Chadwick will announce after the game that he is to stand down from his position at Blackpool.

Having been chairman of the Panthers since the walkout of main backer Dave Rowland in the club’s debut season in 2005, Chadwick is making way for a new owner/chairman whose identity will be revealed soon.

Chadwick will remain as Blackpool’s vice-chairman.

On the Blackpool club’s books but not playing in last week’s game at Spotland were former Oldham men Damien Munro — suspended this weekend — Simon Svabic, Gareth Langley and Chris Campbell.

Panthers second row man Ian Hodson did turn out in the eight-try triumph. He played for the Roughyeds for four seasons until departing at the end of last term and was a play-off final try scorer against Doncaster in Oldham’s 18-10 loss in 2008.