Benson talks up chances

BACK on track with successive wins in Co-operative Championship One, Tony Benson believes his Roughyeds side are “serious contenders” for end-of-season honours.

Although Swinton Lions are currently running away with the title having secured 10 wins from 11 matches, you can barely get a cigarette paper between the sides fighting for second spot.

Only one point separates Workington, tucked in behind the Lions, from sixth-placed Doncaster.

Oldham are currently seventh, five points behind the Dons and cursing a lack of bonus points picked up so far this season.

But with seven matches still remaining in the regular season — five of which are against sides currently above Oldham in the standings — there is all to play for.

Benson isn’t concentrating on anything other than the immediate task in hand, though, which this weekend sees Whitehaven travel south to the Whitebank (3pm kick-off).

“We have to push on now,” said the Oldham coach, fresh from a confident 52-16 win in Gateshead.

“There is a lot of hard work ahead and there is also a bit of a headache in terms of selection, when you look at the players who weren’t there (against Gateshead).

“We aren’t focusing on the table, to be honest. We haven’t brought it out and haven’t talked about it.

“We go game by game and hopefully points will start to mount up and see us move in the right direction.

“We see ourselves as serious contenders come the end of the year.”

Oldham’s sudden strength in depth was on show at Gateshead and could prove crucial to any challenge mounted to the top play-off spots.

Leeds loan duo Callum Casey and Danny Bravo made good debuts in the North-East, new Mark McCully impressed again as a steadying influence at left centre in his second showing for the first team and Matthew Fogarty showed up well in making a try-scoring comeback to the side after injury.

Poised on the sidelines are ex-Swinton prop Bruce Johnson, still awaiting his chance in the senior ranks after damaging a finger, winger John Gillam (foot) — he will have a job on displacing young Shaun Robinson based on the former Saddleworth Rangers man’s excellent form — and Tom Wood-Hulme (broken hand).




MATTHEW Fogarty claimed not one but two first-half tries at Gateshead and Mark Brocklehurst a brace in the second period rather than a hat-trick.