I know we still have a week to go but let's start now.


Oldham have spent some dosh for this year & scored bucket loads of points in the Cup games & 1st league game with York. Since then, they have found points a bit hard to come by & of course nilled by HKR. Good to see old boys Kershaw & Bill Leyland on the HKR score sheet.


Assuming we have a fully fit squad & we complete our sets, I can see us beating Oldham.  Didn't think I'd be saying that this early in the season. 

Oldham has thrown some cash about and their early Cup performances showed they can rack up points when they click. Their York result made a statement, but they’ve looked less sharp since. Getting nilled by HKR will have stung, although it was good to see ex-Broncos Kershaw and Bill Leyland getting over for them.

That said, with Sean Long coaching, you know they’ll be well-drilled in attack and looking to move the ball. If we’ve got the full squad fit and can keep our completion rates high, there’s every chance we can edge this one. The three-week break could be a double-edged sword - fresh legs but maybe some rust to shake off. Our pack needs to lay the platform, and if we control the ruck and limit errors, we’ve got enough in the backs to hurt them.  It’s all about execution on the day and whether we’re sharp enough after the layoff. Let’s see how the week shapes up before the game!

Squad list for Oldham


1 - ALEX WALKER

2 - CHRIS HELLEC

5 - LIAM TINDALL

6 - LUKE POLSELLI

7 - CONNOR O'BEIRNE

8 - HUW WORTHINGTON

9 - CURTIS DAVIES

10 - LEWIS BIENEK

11 - WILL LOVELL

12 - SADIQ ADEBIYI

13 - MARCUS STOCK

16 - KIAN MCDERMOTT

17 - JENSEN MONK

18 - BEN HURSEY-HORD

19 - LUKAS MASON

20 - AARON SMALL

21 - CHRIS BALL

24 - AKE THEWLIS

27 - TAYLOR KERR

28 - JENSON BINKS

The final 17 will almost certainly be the same as the Dewsbury 1895 game 3 weeks ago.  Where are our 3 & 4?

I tip the Broncos for an upset 18-22 victory even if they have ex-Broncos Kieran Dixon & Josh Drinkwater in their 21.

Full strength team for us. Another good test. 

6-16 down at halftime.
Bit of work to do in the second 40.

6-50
Did we turn up in the second half?

Good grief! What on earth happened this afternoon in that nine-try rout??!! It was only 16-6 at half-time, but we completely fell apart after the break, conceding 34 unanswered points. Were we genuinely pretending to be a League 1 side?  Oldham was ruthless and their ball movement was slick finding gaps far too easily both out wide and through the middle. Our defence was all over the place after half-time, with missed tackles and poor line speed making it far too easy for them. It’s one thing to be outplayed, but that second-half capitulation was alarming. If we serve up performances like that, we’ll be in a relegation scrap before we know it.  Not the scoreline I was expecting & 2nd bottom after 3 games.  So much for my prediction.