Oldham v Keighley, battle of the big two

Oldham new-boy Kieran Dixon was in Seventh Heaven in the Boundary Park Broadway Suite when presented with his man-of-the-match award on debut against North Wales Crusaders.

Born 31 years ago in Hackney, this lethal Londoner scored two tries and kicked four goals in our 32-6 win and then reminded Oldham fans that there were still seven games to go. "Not one," he stressed "SEVEN" – a reference, perhaps, to the fact that there is a lot more to come after this Sunday's mouth-watering home clash with Keighley.

Like us all, Dixon knows and acknowledges that the game with second-placed Keighley is not one to be missed but he seemed to be thinking, without actually saying it, that if we were to beat Cougars but then lose at Rochdale in the next match we would be back to square one.

For the top two, the next few weeks will be crucial and either club will make a big mistake – and I'm sure they won't, writes ROGER HALSTEAD – if they win on Sunday, breathe a huge sigh of relief and think they've achieved the be-all and end-all. There are a few other clubs just itching for the chance to pull off an upset, so both Oldham and Keighley need to be on their mettle into September.

Just to remind you, the team finishing top will go up automatically and the team finishing second will not only go into the play-offs but they will have to win that and then beat the team finishing 12th in the Championship. That's why so much is riding on what happens in the next few weeks and, particularly, on this Sunday's 1 v 2 battle at BP.

For the record, Oldham are top with 24 points and Keighley are second with 23. Both have played 13, but Sean's men have a massive points differential of 447 compared with second-best Keighley's 292.

On for-and-against figures alone we have the BEST attack and the BEST defence, this being particularly impressive with only 116 conceded – that's less than nine points a game -- compared with Keighley's 194.

On the other hand, the Cougars are the only team in Betfred League One to have beaten Oldham this season in the league and we have still to play them twice more – here on Sunday and at Cougar Park on Sunday, August 18, one of our four loop fixtures.

We play each Sunday, starting with the big one this week and then going as follows (seven games, five at home): July 28 (Rochdale Hornets away); August 4 (Midlands Hurricanes home), August 11 (Newcastle Thunder home); August 18 (Keighley Cougars away); August 25 (Cornwall home, 1pm); September 1 (Workington Town home)

They all kick off at 3pm with the exception of the Cornwall game, but first things first, and it's the big one this Sunday – Oldham v Keighley at Boundary Park.

As England Knights man Dixon says, it's not one to be missed.

ROLL ON SUNDAY. SEE YOU THERE!