BEN O’Keefe, Oldham’s classy young centre, will be available for selection in Sunday’s 1895 Cup clash with derby rivals Rochdale Hornets at Boundary Park (3pm kick-off) despite getting a two-match ban for alleged punching in the Roughyeds’ impressive 22-10 win at Barrow last Saturday in the Challenge Cup.
There were only seconds left on the clock when O’Keefe left the field with blood streaming down his face, to be followed by Barrow winger Luke Broadbent.
Referee Marcus Griffiths confirmed afterwards that he had sent off both players for alleged punching.
The RFL later released minutes of the Match Review Panel which showed that O’Keefe was charged with a grade ‘D’ offence and Broadbent with the more serious grade ‘E’ offence. The case against the Barrow player was referred to a tribunal.
The Oldham club had no comment to make at this stage though the fact that the resulting penalty was given in the visitors’ favour and that O’Keefe needed numerous stitches in a facial wound are perhaps clues as to how the Roughyeds management is thinking.
The Roughyeds’ leading try scorer this year with three so far, the young Rochdale lad, a Mayfield product, signed for Oldham via Wigan Warriors and the Hornets and is able to play against his former club because suspensions from this disciplinary review don’t kick-in until next week, writes ROGER HALSTEAD.
Hornets, meanwhile, sat they are coming to Boundary Park with confidence after coming from 20–12 down at half-time against Midlands Hurricanes to score 12 unanswered points in the second-half — a similar scenario to that which produced Oldham’s great win at Barrow.
Said Hornets skipper Duane Straughier:
”Oldham have shown their quality by beating Halifax and Barrow. Some of their players are still Super League players, while others could progress to that level. It’s obvious they’re going all out for promotion this year and then hoping to go to high places. From my perspective as captain, Sunday’s game is all about giving a good account of ourselves and playing with pride and passion."
Several former Oldham players will be in the Hornets squad and by all accounts it was one of them, hooker Matty Wilkinson, who swung the Hurricanes game Rochdale’s way with his clever breaks from dummy half when he left the subs’ bench.
Oldham need only a draw to reach the quarter-finals but they need to beware the ‘former player’ syndrome plus Wilkinson’s penchant for lively opportunism from acting half-back plus the deadly accurate goal-kicking of Ridyard.
This is one Oldham will be particularly keen to win and I’m sure they will. But there will be no room for complacency or cleverness, that’s for sure.
