Match Preview: Oldham v Sheffield

We are back at Boundary Park this weekend for the first time since May, as Sean Long's men look to make it three wins on the spin as Oldham welcome Sheffield Eagles.

The Roughyeds produced a dominant display to power past Widnes at Sedgley Park last weekend and will look to maintain that momentum with another big performance ahead of next Friday's trip to Bradford Bulls.

Oldham are 4th in the table, with Sheffield in 11th.

Team News

Head coach Long has some key names returning this weekend, with vice-captain Matty Wildie named in the 21-man squad after undergoing elbow surgery in April.

Also in contention to make his return is winger Kieran Dixon, who has been absent since breaking his arm in the hard-fought win away in Sheffield in March. Dixon even scored the match-clinching try with the broken arm!

Both Matty and Kieran join George on this week's exclusive new episode of The Boundary Line on our popular YouTube channel Roughyeds TV - you can subscribe for free and watch it here.

New signing Morgan Smith is immediately in contention to play against his former club having arrived from Sheffield this week and trained with the team on Wednesday night.

You can catch his exclusive first interview as an Oldham player with George here.

Prop Gil Dudson is also ready to return from a calf injury that has kept him out of the last three games.

George Hirst misses out through concussion protocols after suffering a head injury in his man-of-the-match performance in the win over the Vikings last Sunday.

Fellow forward Ryan Lannon also picked up a rib injury in that game and misses out.

Adam Lawton, Danny Craven and Logan Astley this week all left the club with everyone's best wishes.

The head coach discusses his preparations for the Sheffield game and his team selection in his latest interview with George here.

Zane Musgrove serves the third game of his suspension, while Riley Dean remains out injured.

Captain Jordan Turner has stepped up his recovery from a knee issue while fellow centres Iain Thornley and Jumah Sambou are out long-term.

Squad in full: 2. Kieran Dixon 5. Mo Agoro, 8. Gil Dudson, 9. Matty Wildie, 10. Owen Farnworth, 11. Matty Ashurst, 13. Adam Milner, 14. Bailey Aldridge, 15. Jay Chapelhow, 17. Elijah Taylor, 19. Ted Chapelhow, 20. Jack Johnson, 21. Lewis Baxter, 23. Josh Drinkwater, 24. Ben O'Keefe, 27. Ben Forster, 31. Phoenix Laulu-Togaga’e, 38. Ben Davies, 39. Mathieu Pons, 40. Eloi Pelissier, 42. Morgan Smith.

The Opposition

Sheffield find themselves down in 11th spot in the Championship table, but with Craig Lingard now in charge you can expect an upturn in their fortunes for the remainder of the season.

The Eagles arrive at Boundary Park off the back of three straight defeats against York, Batley and Doncaster, but showed they are a dangerous side with two tries at the in-form Knights last weekend.

Sheffield gave Oldham a real fright in south Yorkshire earlier this season before Oldham finished strongly to secure a 20-8 victory.

And with Danny Craven set for an immediate Eagles debut against his former club, this could well be a match that you do not want to miss!

Match Experience

We are very proud of our Boundary Park matchday experience and there will be plenty going on this Sunday as Oldham play at home for the first time since May, following planned pitch maintenance.

The weather is expected to be glorious, and we encourage fans to arrive early to take advantage of activities in Bar 1895 and around the stadium, with street food, drinks and live music from the Boundary Parkas before the match.

The entertainment in Bar 1895 kicks off with live music, before host George Riley takes over at 2pm with the all-important exclusive first read of the big-match team news, plus live interviews, photo opportunities and autographs with the Oldham stars not in the matchday 17.

Our legendary club mascot Roary the Roughyed will also be on hand to meet all our young - and old - Roughyeds fans.

It is the perfect place to meet your friends and family, have a drink before and after the game, listen to live music, watch live sport including Roughyeds footage on the big screens, and gain real insight from the players before and after the game.

Visiting fans from Sheffield are also warmly welcomed.

Tickets

Tickets are the usual price of £20 for adults and £14 concessions with kids going free.

We strongly encourage fans to save £4 by purchasing their match tickets in advance as prices do rise on matchday.

This is to help us manage numbers and ensure we have the correct areas open to maximise the fan experience on matchdays, and we appreciate your understanding on this.

Click here to get yours.

Access:

For hospitality - including pie and peas - we request you arrive by 1pm if you are eating.

For Bar 1895 - please note that fans can enter the stadium via Bar 1895, but there is no re-entry to Bar 1895 before kick-off once you are inside the stadium - so relax and enjoy the Bar 1895 entertainment before taking your seats.
Once the match has kicked off, fans will be able to access Bar 1895 from the stadium.

Other refreshments are available via the kiosks on the concourse.

Merch:

We want you to look the part and are delighted to have taken a spot in Athletic Store at the ground this year.

Media coverage

Make sure you are following all of our social channels, on Facebook, X and Instagram, the only place to hear the first thoughts from head coach Sean Long before and after kick off this Saturday, see exclusive on-the-hooter interviews with our players at the end of the game and cast your vote for Man of the Match and much more.

We urge all of our fans to get behind this team on its exciting upward trajectory. Our aim is Super League but we need your help to get there - we need to build bigger crowds to be in the conversation.

But we also understand that not all of our fanbase can make it every week, with many of you exiled far and wide and others at work or unable to attend for medical reasons.

For that reason we are proud to bring our fans together with the usual live audio-only commentary service available via Roughyeds TV on You Tube from 3pm.

Please subscribe, follow, like, comment, share and engage with our media content that we are so proud to have to rival any throughout rugby league - it all helps with our IMG score too.

We can't wait to have you with us at Boundary Park on Sunday as we host Sheffield .... Let’s hear the Roughyed Roar!