Featherstone game will tell us where we stand
11/04/2025
FEATHERSTONE Rovers at Boundary Park. Wow, if ever a game underlines Oldham's kudos these days, this is it. No, you didn't see a misprint in the Championship table. It might change before Sunday's game, but as things stand right now, Roughyeds are SECOND TOP and Featherstone are SECOND BOTTOM.
We could further enhance our place in the upper reaches on Sunday, but you can NEVER write off such an accomplished and well-established side as Featherstone just because they have made such a poor start.
Check results over the last few years and it's as clear as a well-lit Davey Lamp that the team once dubbed the 'Miners Men' have been one of the strongest and most reliable teams in the Championship.
I'd wager a cob of coal to a full working colliery that Featherstone Rovers will be up there in the play-offs come the end of the 2025 season, so Sunday's game at Boundary Park will not only be a cracker – Longy's description — but will require all Oldham's guile and speed with ball in hand, all their dogged approach to defence and all their brilliant attitude to the job in hand if they are to make it four wins in a row.
One thing is for sure — this game will prove beyond doubt that Oldham can, at the very least, hold their own among the big boys.
I'm particularly interested to see that Longy is putting this crucial league game as a priority over the semi-final of the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup, the daw for which will be made at Boundary Park, and broadcast live on BBC Radio Manchester, shortly before the start of Sunday's game.
As a native of Wigan, and such a naturally-gifted half at St Helens, Sean will have grown up with a belief, an expectation almost, that Wembley or Old Trafford were there for the taking.
It was never like that in Oldham, Sean, so it's probably hard for the Oldham boss to appreciate how so many Oldhamers feel about being one game from Wembley.
Nevertheless, there's a lot of Championship rugby to be played before the semi-final and this Sunday's league game has to take priority, given that up to 800 Rovers fans may make the trip,
THERE COULD EVEN BE A RECORD CROWD, SUCH IS THE INTEREST IN BOTH TOWNS.