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Sunday showdown should be a cracker

ROUGHYEDS won’t be short of inside information on Dewsbury Rams ahead of tomorrow’s (Sunday) crucial four-pointer at Bower Fold.

Martyn Reilly, Luke Nelmes and Tommy Brierley played for the Rams last season, while Matt Diskin and his assistant, Brendan Sheridan both live in the Heavy Woollen town and keep abreast of what’s happening at the Tetley Stadium.

One of the big talking points in that neck of the woods this week was the use of veteran half-back, play-maker and goalkicker Paul Sykes as non-playing substitute in last Sunday’s 24-68 smashing by Featherstone on home soil.

Before that, 39-year-old Sykes and 37-year-old Liam Finn had paired up at half-back in nearly all the Rams ten games in cup and league this season.

Finn was in his usual No 7 role against Rovers, but the other half of the ‘golden oldie’ half-back partnership was on the bench with newcomers Dom Speakman, Dan Hawksworth and Robson Stevens.

The fact that he didn’t make an appearance – unusual for any sub in the modern game – merely added to the intrigue.

There could be several reasons, of course, but one theory is that coach Lee Greenwood kept his veteran ace out of the firing line to save him for the Oldham game, working on the principle of targeting certain games.

Matt Diskin will be fully aware of that and will have his forwards, including former Rams in Reilly and Nelmes, primed to run at Sykes and Finn at every opportunity in order to give them plenty of tackling to do and to tire them out.

Oldham’s forwards, boosted this season by the inclusion of new signings Reilly, Nelmes, Liam Kirk, Shaun Pick and Tyer Dupree, have at least held their own in most games this year and it would appear that Rams boss Greenwood, a former Oldham winger, is just as aware of that as Roughyeds know all about the threat from Finn and Sykes.

He recently signed prop Dan Hawksworth and recruited young front-rower Robson Stevens on loan from the Huddersfield Giants Academy. 

With Hawksworth and second-row man Tom Garratt both suspended for this Sunday showdown, as is Oldham’s Danny Bridge, he has pulled in, again on loan, a certain Jimmy Beckett, whom needs no introduction to Oldham fans.

The last time the teams met, in the final game of the curtailed 2020 season, Nelmes and Reilly played for the Yorkshire club and Beckett played for Roughyeds.

It was 6-6 at half-time but with Reilly and Nelmes to the fore in the forwards and with Finn and Sykes controlling things behind them, Dewsbury piled on 18 unanswered points in the second half to finish worthy winners.

Both sides have struggled in recent weeks, but with precious Championship points at stake, Oldham are determined to make amends for recent poor performances and to pick up their third win of the season.

With so much at stake it should be a cracker.

Tickets

Because of Covid regulations, fans intending to be at Bower Fold for this one need to buy tickets in advance online via our ticketing page.

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