Callum joy in six-try romp

Photo: Pictures by TIM BRADLEY.

TRY AND A GOAL: Will Mellor touches down and Callum Megram (inset) applies the conversion.

Oldham 1sts 34, Garstang 1sts 0

CALLUM Megram passed 100 points for the season and North Lancashire Division One leaders Oldham maintained their unbeaten record during this dominant display.

These two teams had fought out a close cup encounter earlier in the season, and with Oldham missing captain Gareth Barber, leading try scorer Max Horsfall, Martin Hamer and Charlie Roscoe, Garstang harboured hopes of revenge.

Despite Oldham’s sloppiness in conceding penalties, they were too strong and ruthless for the visitors.

They began the game at their usual high pace and disrupted Garstang from the outset.

When a Garstang move broke down in midfield, Oldham hacked the ball forward and Nick Hackman and Megram made good progress before John Souter burst through to score.

Garstang had a chance to respond immediately when Oldham were penalised at the breakdown, but the penalty attempt went well wide.

A second Oldham try soon followed when Ryan North and Jordan McEwan exchanged passes before the latter dived over.

The lead was stretched in the 25th minute when stand-in captain Will Mellor produced an individual piece of brilliance. The Oldham number eight drove Garstang off their put-in and, broke down the blind side from halfway and beat the full-back for an individual try, which Megram converted.

The bonus-point try soon followed. Jordan Green collected the ball and found Ryan Pickles, who sped towards the 22 before off-loading to Megram, who was tackled just short of the line.

Oldham recycled the ball quickly and Stuart Brennan crashed over from five metres following a deft pass from Michael Forestier.

Oldham’s penalty count was again causing concern and the referee finally lost patience by sending Tom Hannon to the sin bin just before half-time with the score 22-0.

The hosts put the result beyond doubt on the hour mark when Megram dived over in the corner to bring up three figures for the season.

The final try was a result of Oldham’s third penalty of the day. Mellor found Megram, who quickly moved the ball for Hackman to feed Josh Watson for a try under the posts. Megram converted.