Skolars heading in right direction

THOUGH Oldham’s season has had more ups and downs than a grasshopper in a lift, the high and low points of London Skolars’ 2011 campaign are even further apart.

Buoyed by three successive wins — including last week’s sparkling triumph over Whitehaven — coach Tony Benson’s Roughyeds now have realistic hopes of a top-four finish in Championship One.

Skolars, too, have play-off hopes. From the low point back in March when coach Joe Mbu picked up a six-month touchline ban for his part in a brawl at Doncaster, with the same punishment also meted out to assistant coach Ollie Bloom, the capital’s second professional rugby league team have bounced back superbly.

Three wins from their last four in Co-Operative Championship One, all at their usual New River Stadium home in North London, leaves the perennial strugglers right on the shoulders of South Wales Scorpions — a side they defeated 27-26 a week ago thanks to a late drop goal from influential scrum-half Dylan Skee.

Skolars are also only six points behind Oldham. Playing in the unfamiliar environment of the Twickenham Stoop tomorrow (5pm kick-off) as part of Quins RL star Rob Purdham’s testimonial, a larger-than-usual crowd will no doubt be cheering the home side on to halve that gap.

There is plenty of experience and know-how in a Skolars team which has rarely been beaten heavily this season.

Winger Ade Adebisi, who started his career with London Broncos, brings with him a wealth of knowledge from stints with Hull, Doncaster, Featherstone and Whitehaven; Australia-born playmaker Skee, who started out at Quins RL, set a new club record of 24 points in a game in a 44-22 home win against Rochdale in late May; veteran hooker Gareth Honor will alternate with lively former Wigan and Warrington man Sam Gee in the hooking role; and back row forward Ollie Purslow was also with Quins for a number of years.

A measure of how far this dangerous side have come is evident in the 18-16 defeat of Keighley three games ago, revenge for the 66-6 hammering at the hands of the Cougars in March.

Skolars also pushed Whitehaven hard at the Recreation Ground last month before ultimately being edged out 14-12.

Benson has yet to lose a game to his former employers Skolars as coach of Oldham.