Hartley runs riot in Roughyeds' victory over young Warriors

A second-half hat-trick from Joe Hartley gave Roughyeds a 40-22 win in a high-scoring, action-packed game at Ince Rose Bridge against Wigan Warriors Academy.

Hartley scored four tries in total - and could have had more - after he benefited from several well-worked training ground moves, which have been the theme of pre-season.

Connor Carr, who played his first match of the season, showed quality with some strong carries as well as good defensive work.

Oldham’s pre-season injury woes continued after Dom Newton rolled his ankle during the warm-up and as a result he did not feature.

Roughyeds, as they did against Rochdale, started slow and struggled to get a stranglehold on Wigan with only a 66% completion rate.

The errors were cut out in the second half and Stuart Littler’s men were too hot to handle as they ran in four unanswered tries.

There were regular interchanges from a 12-strong Warriors bench, but that didn’t stop the flow of the Wigan side which asked several questions of Roughyeds.

Oldham were the first to pounce and the try came just minutes after the kick off.

Matty Wilkinson, not known for his size, leaped high as he charged down Logan Astley’s kick, propelling Roughyeds into great territory.

With Wigan camped on their goal-line, Jack Blagbrough powered his way through under the sticks which Martyn Ridyard duly converted.

Wigan showed why they went unbeaten in last year’s reserve league when they secured a quick response with an unconverted try from Povall after a Calvin Wellington loose carry.

Not long after, Kian Morgan - as he so often does - forced a knock on through a strong tackle.

The ball was shifted out to the right, and Hartley would have been in had the referee not adjudged him to have dropped the ball as he stretched for the line.

Hartley was involved again, he forced a Wigan man into touch and from the subsequent set Patrick Ah Van dived over for a try in the corner, converted by Ridyard.

Kian McDermott and Ryan Brown for Warriors played well; they regularly broke through the Oldham defence with intricate, quick passing and McDermott was rewarded with a try as he broke through unopposed.

Wigan scored again; it was yet more good work by McDermott and Brown which allowed Joe Tyrer to score the try.

The Warriors couldn’t capitalise on their lead, and direct from the scrum, Hartley scored in the corner after an Oldham overload on the right.

In the second half, Wigan responded with their fourth and final try which came from Maddox Jeffery, converted by Jack Farrimond.

With the scores at 22-18, Roughyeds got to work. George Hirst was introduced, and he caused a number of problems.

Hirst, a towering figure, regularly powered his way through three and four Wigan tacklers who couldn’t bring him down.

After forcing a goal-line drop-out, Oldham re-took the lead.

Another overload, this time on the left, was enough for the speedy Ellis Keppel to theatrically dive over for a try which Ridyard converted.

From then, Oldham piled on the pressure and had Wigan camped in their own half.

Wigan could not get a handle on that man Hartley, who found his way in at nearly every opportunity, and he scored three more which made the final scores 22-40.

It was another win for Oldham and another match that provided food for thought for head coach Littler as he now looks to get his lads firing for Doncaster in two weeks time.

OLDHAM: McNally; Hartley, Wellington, Morgan, Ah Van; Ridyard, Paga; Blagbrough, Wilkinson, Newton, Ferry, Baker, Meadows.

Subs: Slater, Thornton, Carr, Bardsley, Yarrow, Keppel, Hirst (all used).

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