AS Cian Tyrer leads the Betfred League One list of try scorers#, it naturally follows that he leads the Oldham list, too. So who comes next ? Who is second to Cian as Roughyeds set a hot pace at the top of League One ?
Have you got it ? The answer is big centre Jordan Turner, who has four league tries to his name. He scored at Workington in game one, followed up with two in the home win against our nearest and dearest and went in for a fourth in the win against Cornwall before limping off with a knock which is likely to keep him on the sidelines for a bit.
We have no league game this weekend – only a friendly against Salford Reserves away in order to follow routine – so our nearest rivals in League One may make up some ground on us, although we are comfortably ahead on points difference, having won 48-10 at Workington, 54-6 at home to Hornets, 62-0 at Hunslet and 46-10 at home to Cornwall,
In those four games we amassed 38 tries at an average of 9.5 tries a match so somebody is doing something right, especially when considering that we are conceding only six points a game, or a fraction more, and that only nine of those tries have been scored by forwards.
That gives a pointer to our style of play, suggesting that the forwards are grafting and working hard to make the hard yards, to establish good field position and quick play-the-balls and to provide the backs with the time and space to run up the points and do the entertaining.
It all stems from Sean Long’s emphasis on and his insistence that teams have to earn the right to play fast, open rugby; that the forwards must win the rucks first and establish physical and mental authority and then, and only then, can the backs throw the ball around and pile on the points.
For the record. these are our try-scorers so far – Cian Tyrer 10 (plus one for Workington); Jordan Turner (4); Logan Astley (3); Adam Lawton (3), PLT (3), Ben O’Keefe (3); Owen Farnworth (2), Joe Wardle (2), Mo Agoro (1), T Chapelhow (1), Danny Craven (1), Jamie Ellis (1), George Hirst (1), Kian Morgan (1), M Turner (1), Matty Wildie (1).
