REVENGE is not a word liked in either code of rugby, so we’ll say that Roughyeds and coach Stuart Littler will be out “to put the record straight” when Oldham clash on Sunday with a Doncaster side which has beaten them TWICE this season.
Roughyeds were beaten 28-26 at Doncaster in the second round of the Challenge Cup and 26-22 in the Betfred League One clash over there and on each occasion Littler’s men felt they should have won.
I was abroad on holiday so I missed the cup-tie, but I was there for the league game and I’m convinced that had the game gone on for another few minutes we would have won it to inflict a first defeat on Richard Horne’s men, writes ROGER HALSTEAD.
They finally suffered defeat at top-of-the-table Dewsbury Rams — and the only point the Rams have failed to win this season was the one they lost in a fabulous game at the Vestacare Stadium which ended in a draw.
We thus have the following stats at the top of the table:
- DEWSBURY RAMS: played 11, won 10, drawn 1, lost O, for 437, against 120, pts 21
- DONCASTER: played 10, won 9, drawn 0, lost 1, for 356, against 188, pts 18
- OLDHAM: played 10, won 8, drawn 1, lost 1, for 400, against 174, pts 17
It all augurs well for a terrific clash at the Vestacare Stadium on Sunday so get their early to avoid turnstile congestion and to pick your spot. If Oldham win — and they are still unbeaten at home you will remember — Littler’s lads will go second.
Assuming Dewsbury beat Rochdale at home this evening (Friday), and Oldham beat the Dons on Sunday. It will elevate Roughyeds to second place, four points behind the Rams but with a game in hand.
The Dons, of course, have their own reasons for making it three out of three against Oldham this season and a glance at their website quite naturally presents a positive picture ahead of Sunday’s fascinating encounter.
Coach Richard Horne believes his players should be firing on all cylinders at this stage of the campaign. He says his players should be at peak fitness, both physically and mentally, and he expects both physical fitness and mental fitness to be of paramount importance in a crucial clash.
He said: “We’ll have to be good defensively because Oldham have some quality players and they’re in good form. Physically, we’re fair enough. It’s more the mental side of things and making sure our composure levels are where they have to be.”
With home advantage, and motivated by both their home record and the fact that they will earnestly want to “put the record straight” Oldham will go into this very evenly-matched game as slight favourites.
They have played some smashing rugby at the Vestacare Stadium this year and if they can repeat the sort of penache and style they displayed against Dewsbury and Hunslet in their last two home games, they will do far more than win; they will satisfy the thirst of fans who crave entertaining, crowd-pleasing wing-to-wing rugby.
