Brennan keen to cut out mistakes

MAKING the hard yards: David Harris (St Anne’s) drives in against Shaw Cross Sharks in the Saints’ 28-10 victory.

KEITH BRENNAN, the Saddleworth Rangers coach, is determined his side won’t make the same mistakes again after they slipped to their first defeat of the season in the National Conference League.

After winning their first three matches in division one, they were looking to enhance their promotion credentials at Castleford Panthers.

But instead they went down 10-6, with Rangers’ only try coming from Tom Lever in the last minute, which was converted by Michael Coates.

Brennan said: “It was a very poor performance when you compared it to how we’d been playing in the lead up to last weekend.

“We conceded 21 penalties in total and some people will point the finger at the referee, but we’ve only got ourselves to blame.

“We probably dropped to Panthers’ level, instead of imposing ourselves on them. It turned into a scrappy affair, which suited them more.

“The players had already identified where they had gone wrong by the time they’d got back to the dressing room. That was a good thing, because I’d be more concerned if the opposite was the case.

“Looking at the positives, we only conceded 10 points and we could have snatched it at the end.

“We’ll put it down to a bad day at the office, but we must learn from it and move on. It may turn out to be the kick up the backside that we needed.”

Brennan will be looking for a favourable response from his players when Widnes St Maries, who sit third in the table, visit Greenfield on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Rangers are leading the way in the Rugby Oldham Challenge after the latest round of matches.

They are two points clear of Waterhead, who were missing a host of first-team regulars in a 40-14 defeat at East Leeds in division two.

The Peach Road outfit trailed 24-8 at half-time and there was no way back for Mick Slicker’s side.

They did have the consolation of producing the game’s outstanding moment when Ashley Wildman gathered the ball behind his own try-line before running the entire length of the field to score.

Oldham St Anne’s, who are close up in third in the Challenge standings, made it back-to-back wins at home to Shaw Cross Sharks in division one.

Lee Forsythe scored two of Saints’ four tries — Keil Lancashire kicked six goals — in the 28-10 success.




AFTER a weekend off, the North-West Counties League and Pennine League are back in action on Saturday.
Oldham St Anne’s, who are still searching for their first point of the season after three defeats in division one, are at home to Haydock.

Saddleworth Rangers, who lost their first game, visit Heyshaw Atoms in division three, while Waterhead are hoping to end a run of three consecutive losses at Moss Bank Bulldogs in division four.

But Rochdale Cobras are going great guns in division six after two wins out of two. They visit Ashton Bears ‘A’.

In division four of the Pennine League, Hollinwood are also looking for a pick-me-up after three straight defeats. They go to Queensbury ‘A’, who are also aiming to get off the mark.




HILLSIDE Hawks kick-off their new season on Sunday with a local derby against Middleton.

The Women’s Rugby League will feature two divisions for the first time, with nine teams in the top flight and seven sides in the second tier.

Wakefield, the reigning champions, have a bye on the opening day, while last season’s runners-up and Challenge Cup holders Bradford play host to Keighley.




IN a topsy-turvy encounter, Saddleworth Rangers under-11s just failed to peg back Mayfield Mustangs.
They lost 26-24 after they allowed their hosts to build up an early lead.

A Tom Jowle try reduced the arrears, only for more handling errors saw Rangers ship more points.

But man-of-the-match Jowle replied with a second try, which Tom Brisk converted.

Trailing by a four-point margin at the start of the second half, Jowle completed his hat-trick and, with Nathan Knowles adding the extras, Rangers had nosed ahead for the first time.

But two scores in quick succession by Mayfield, one of which was converted, saw the home side stretch clear.

Rangers did have the last say, however, as Brisk went over for a superb try late on.