WELL-known former Oldham player Keith Atkinson has flown across the world, from Brisbane to Manchester, to meet up with his home-town club’s new board, to take a look at the ’new’ Boundary Park, where Roughyeds will play next season and to take in two very important games in the Betfred League One promotion chase.
Aged 58, this one-time centre or wing, a marksman of no mean repute, was a guest of the club when we won 28-18 at Workington on Sunday and he will enjoy similar status at the Vestacare Stadium this Sunday when there will be a full house for the visit of unbeaten league leaders Dewsbury Rams. They are hot favourites to go up as champions, to be joined by the winners of the play-off, featuring the five clubs numbered 2 to 6 inclusive in the end-of-season pecking order.
Roughyeds are currently third in the table (second in the play-off five as they stand at present) but if they were to win on Sunday (3pm kick-off) they would be only four points behind the leaders with two games in hand.
Fans have responded magnificently to our FREE-FOR-ALL initiative with tickets obtained online via our ticketing page on the website. Thanks heaps for that, but please be advised to get there in good time to prevent hassle at the entrances, given that we’ll be up to capacity.
Keith Atky emigrated to Australia as a young family man with his wife Nova and children Sally and Joshua shortly after hanging up his rugby boots after an Oldham career that stretched from early 1986 to the 1990-91 season. He made 81 senior appearances, scored 15 tries and kicked 102 goals for a total of 264 points.— and a swagger-load of memories!
He and his family have lived in Australia for about 25 years, first in WA near Perth but now up in Queensland, north of Brisbane on the Sunshine Coast. Keith heads a hugely-successful business which makes health care equipment, but he spends much of his time these days with his wife Nova, an Oldham girl, Joshua, Sally and the grandchildren.
Said Keith:
“It’s the memories that count. Memories, friendships, growing up in Oldham, playing for Oldham at Watersheddings. Priceless ! The club has always meant the world to me and when I heard of the new developments and spoke to Fordy and two of the other directors I felt I had to hop on a plane and see what was happening at first hand. I thoroughly enjoyed the Workington game and I’m really looking forward to Dewsbury Rams. I fly home the next day.”
One of his most vivid memories — and it’s one that will be shared by many older fans — is of a Second Division game at Wakefield in 1988 which Oldham won 23-22 to clinch the Second Division championship. Keith scored the winning try, by following Mike Ford up the blind side, and then kicked the all-important goal off the touchline.
He did it with a broken back!
The Oldham team on that joyful Spring day in Wakefield lined up like this:
Mick Burke; Keith Atkinson, Des Foy, Charlie McAlister, Kevin Meadows; Peter Walsh, Mike Ford; Ian Sherratt, Terry Flanagan, Hugh Waddell, Leo Casey, Mal Graham, Gary Warnecke. Subs, Paul Lord, Colin Hawkyard.
Fifteen players, six Oldham lads. As Keith says with a lump in his throat: “Those were the days.”
Relative to Sunday’s big game, the board has been highly encouraged by the fans’ response to FREE admission with the obtaining of tickets online via the club website. The match is already a full house and up to capacity so please don’t come unless you already have a ticket because the match is all ticket, you won’t get in without one and we hate to see anyone disappointed.
