Measuring up for key battle

OLDHAM’S Mick Fogarty could line up directly against local men Casey Mayberry and Damian Munro.

Panthers could find ground a tight fit

ROUGHYEDS coach Tony Benson hopes his players have come to terms with their brand new dimension.

The Whitebank Stadium has so far hosted two Co-operative Championship One defeats out of three played since the Oldham club moved lock, stock and barrel to Limeside.

Losses against York and then Hunslet threatened to derail a season which had started promisingly with seven league victories in succession.

It is the tight, narrow pitch which has been partly attributed to a temporary loss of form on home soil — but Benson hopes that Blackpool will be the uncomfortable side on Sunday (3pm kick-off).

“Blackpool’s ground is one of the widest around,” said Benson, referring to the Panthers’ spacious borrowed home on the coast at Fylde RUFC.

“We have been coming to terms with playing on our narrower and smaller field, which is what Hunslet and York were already used to.

“Hopefully we have overcome our early difficulties now.

“Their is an air of excitement and a lot of confidence in the players.

“We have worked hard and feel good about ourselves.

“Now we just have to add something to our decision-making out wide and it will mean we have good attacking options right across the field.”

Oldham’s confidence was boosted by an important win at Workington last week.

The 28-16 scoreline looks comfortable enough but the Roughyeds were forced to come back from 10-0 behind, at which point the visitors looked down and out.

But, thanks in no small part to the forwards’ effort off the bench, Oldham regrouped and took over proceedings.

As for Blackpool, Martin Crompton’s big spenders lost their first game of the season last week at York.

The 24-22 defeat at the Huntington Stadium arrived only two weeks after the Panthers had blasted Gateshead 132-0 in their last outing, with former Huddersfield Giants scrum-half Tom Hemingway landing an astonishing 22 conversions from as many attempts to equal Jim Sullivan’s all-time record set for Wigan in the 1920s.

And Benson is wary of a clearly talented outfit.

“Blackpool offer danger from all over the field and will be smarting from what happened to them last week,” he said.

“Their team is made up of some of the best players around at this level and I expect them to be very strong and determined.”

There are a number of players with Oldham connection in the Blackpool side.

Local men Casey Mayberry and Damian Munro could line up as a centre-wing partnership directly against Oldham’s own home-grown duo of Mick Fogerty and John Gillam.

The Panthers team also features ex-Oldham players Danny Halliwell and Paul Anderson.