Oldham back on track with big Broncos win

Sean Long hailed an outstanding performance as Oldham returned to winning ways with a thumping 50-6 victory over London Broncos at Boundary Park.

Captain Jordan Turner produced a man of the match performance on his return from injury as Roughyeds responded to defeats at Barrow and Hull KR with a dominant display from start to finish.

"We like to play a good brand or rugby and you could see our effort was there and the attack flows off the back of that," said Long, who had made some big selection calls.

Not many teams will put 40-odd points on London, I don't think anyone will if I'm being honest. So that is credit to us and our fans who got behind us."

Long handed starts to teenage Wigan wingers Nathan Lowe and Josh Cartwright who arrived just a few days ago on dual-registration from the Warriors, with Turner back at centre in place of the suspended Jumah Sambou.

And the home side started with a bang as Lowe produced an acrobatic finish to convert Turner's pass in the second minute to mark his debut from the try, Josh Drinkwater missing with his first attempt at goal as Oldham forged a 4-0 lead.

It was soon 10-0, Turner scoring one of his own with a powerful finish, Drinkwater adding the extras. Then came the one negative of an otherwise impressive afternoon, as Danny Craven was carried off with a knee injury to be replaced by Riley Dean.

London responded well to the early Oldham blitz and hit back with a strong step and finish from Sadiq Adebiyi to trail 10-6. But Oldham reasserted their supremacy before the break as Turner and Drinkwater combined brilliantly to send the latter over, Roughyeds leading 16-6 at half-time.

Broncos lost two players to head injury protocols and saw a third - full-back Alex Walker - hobble off, and Long's men hit top gear to power home in a classy second half.

Phoenix Laulu-Togagag'e created a second for Turner, Pat Moran added another, PLT touched down himself from a smart Lowe offload, Ashurst spun over to finish, Lawton rampaged over for a trademark try and PLT added the pick of the bunch with a sensational jinking run to bring up the half century. Drinkwater kicking seven from nine from the tee.

This was a ruthless, efficient and stylish Roughyeds display, ripping apart a dangerous opponent who were competing in Super League only months ago. In short, this was much more like it.

"Our defence was really good and there was a cycle in the second half when we just went after them," Long added.

We dominated a team who have just come down from Super League. I think the Hull KR game last week put us in good stead for this, as we might have got smacked in the face had we not been used to that speed."

Long singled out returning skipper Turner and debutants Lowe and Cartwright for special praise:

"It's not just his playing ability but his leadership and his knowledge, what he is giving back to players. He is unbelievable to have around the club.

The Wigan lads went really well. Lowey got his hands on the ball a lot, scored a try, created a couple and went looking for work as Josh did as well. They are not scared of getting their hands dirty or ripping in and that is what we asked them to do."

Oldham face a tricky trip to Sheffield next up, before a huge clash against Barrow at Boundary Park in the quarter-finals of the 1895 Cup. Oldham are two games from Wembley, having never graced the iconic venue, and fans are urged to book their tickets early.

Header Image credit: Simon Hall