Dallimore flair boosts Oldham

Photo: PICTURE: GRAHAM LYNCH.

Paul Smith gets caught in a tackle.

Keighley 26, Oldham 12

Half-back form cause for optimism
JAMIE Dallimore’s early-season flair at half-back continues to give cause for optimism in the Oldham camp.

The former St Cuthbert’s stand-off, cute and classy, caused Keighley lots of concern despite the Roughyeds’ 26-12 defeat in their fourth and final appearance in this year’s Northern Rail Cup.

Tony Benson’s decision to experiment at half-back with Dallimore and young Jack Reid removed the former from his comfort zone as Neil Roden’s junior partner and thrust him into the role of senior decision maker.

It didn’t bother him one iota. Dallimore clearly has the skill, vision, ingenuity and self-belief to go on and enjoy a splendid first season at senior level once Oldham get down to the nitty-gritty in the opening league game at Workington on Sunday.

Unlike Keighley, who had to win this one in order to qualify for the last eight, Benson’s men already had one eye on the trip to Derwent Park and that was reflected in the boss’s team selection.

Mark Brocklehurst had a first run-out at centre; Reid was in as Neil Roden’s understudy; Danny Whitmore was left out to give Martin Roden a taste; and Paul Smith was recalled to the exclusion of Michael Ward.

Old master Roden will be back in the side in Cumbria on Sunday because Dallimore’s exuberance on the right requires the balance of a more structured and mature half-back partner on the left than the promising Reid.

Roden’s old head usually allows him to take the right options — and to hope that a youngster like Reid would be able to do likewise was always going to be a big ask.

By contrast, Keighley played four experienced play-makers in half-backs Paul March and Danny Jones, hooker Sam Obst and, when he emerged off the bench, player-coach Jason Demetriou.

That’s where Cougars had the big advantage when trying to turn pressure into points, but not many teams in Championship One will field players of the calibre of March, Obst, Demetriou or of big prop Michael Korkidas.

Roughyeds defended heroically against this expensive team of Wakefield Trinity Wildcats old boys, particularly in the first half when the home side had the advantage of playing down a slope they know so well.

Oldham deserved to turn round no more than six points in arrears and they looked like doing that until man-of-the-match Obst, still a class act, went in for his second try on the stroke of half-time — a killer blow, that one.

He opened the scoring in the 13th minute when he squeezed in from dummy half close to the line after a huge drive by Korkidas, but Oldham were soon on level terms when Sean Robinson crossed for an excellent try.

John Gillam turned defence into attack with an interception and Robinson made it count when, a couple of play-the-balls later, he backed himself and beat two defenders in flight to score by the posts.

Oldham’s willingness to graft couldn’t be faulted, but too many times they were forced into error when in possession or lured into conceding costly penalties.

With lots of ball with which to attack the bottom end of the ground, Cougars regained the lead with a Richard Jones try in the 34th minute and then went 18-6 up at half time with Obst’s second try.

Alex Thompson and Paul Noone worked tirelessly in an Oldham pack that lost the services of Chris Clarke with concussion after half an hour.

In the backs no one worked harder than Dallimore, David Cookson and Miles Greenwood.

Cookson’s strength brought out the best in the home defence early in the second half, but Oldham didn’t possess the nous to turn their pressure into points.

Furthermore, they were penalised five times in a row and on the back of that Cougars extended their lead with tries by wingers Richie Barnett and Gavin Duffy.

Never once did Oldham throw in the towel, however, and they were rewarded in the last minute when they took a quick 20-metre restart for Greenwood to find the gap and go the length of the field to score.