Dixon’s record has stood since 2009

Kieran Dixon’s points-in-a-match club record, once held for many years by Abe Johnson in the 1920s, was re-established by our former London Broncos star, who collected 36 points with 12 goals and three tries in our 84-0 triumph against a very young and inexperienced Newcastle Thunder last Sunday.

Abe’s 30 points in a home win against Widnes in 1928 was beaten by Andy Ballard’s 34 (13 goals and two tries) in a 78-10 win v London Skolars in May, 2009. Towards the end of that same season in Co-0p Championship One (tier 3) second-row man Chris Baines equalled Ballard’s record with nine goals and four tries in a 54-30 in against Hunslet at Boundary Park.

Fast forward six years to 2015 and man-of-the-match Lewis Palfrey, our club captain when Scott Naylor was coach and Chris Hamilton, the chairman back then, kept the club alive single-handedly, also had a 34-point haul, with 11 goals and three tries in a 70-6 win at Hemel Stags.

Dixon’s 36, therefore, beat a record that had stood for 15 years and was held jointly by Ballard, Baines and Palfrey, writes ROGER HALSTEAD.

For the record, these were the teams when Ballard, Baines, Palfrey and now Dixon caused the club historians to get out their pens and pencils.

BALLARD: O’Connor; Ballard, Halliwell, Reilly, Onyango; J Coyle, T Coyle; Highton, Gibbons, Menzies, Goulden, Baines, Roberts. Subs: N Roden, I’Anson, Kerr, Robinson.

BAINES: Reilly; Onyango, ?, Halliwell, O’Connor; N Roden, T Coyle; Boults, M Roden, Kerr, Goulden, Baines, Lawton, Subs: Ashe, Sykes, Menzies, I’Anson.

PALFREY: Gee; Lepori, Tyson, Ashton, J Ford; Palfrey, Hewitt; Neal, Owen, Joy, Crowley, Langtree, Thompson, Subs: Ward, Liku, Hughes, Files.

DIXON: PLT; Tyrer, Sambou, Turner, Dixon; Craven, Ellis; Farnworth, Wildie, T Chapelhow, Hirst, Wardle, Moran. Subs: Aldridge, Sidlow, Lawton, Kopczak.

Another highlight of last Sunday’s game was Cian Tyrer’s five tries. He won’t find try-scoring any easier than in this undoubted mis-match, top v bottom. Nevertheless, in the circumstances currently prevailing, the young winger did himself proud, watched by his dad Christian, formerly of Widnes and Keighley in rugby league and of Bath in rugby union.

“He just wants to play,” said Christian, brother of Sean, son of Colin, and part of the famous Tyrer clan. They even look alike, all of them!

Thanks to Colin, the Tyrer's are legends in Leigh and Christian compares Leigh with Oldham as towns and believes Oldham “can do a Leigh” and go to the top.

He said: “The towns are very similar in many ways, the one big difference being the size of Oldham. There is no doubt in my mind that what’s happened in Leigh can be repeated here.”

Cian now has 28 League One tries to his name – and that’s 11 more than his nearest challenger and despite the fact that Mo Agoro and Kieran Dixon have occupied the wing spots in recent games.

All Cian can do is take his chance when it comes along. He did that all right against the Geordies . . . and his dad talks sense too!