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AFTER the best part of
11 weeks sidelined by knee injuries and operations, Matty Brooks and
Simon Baldwin began their comebacks in the Reserves' 56-4 defeat by
Salford City Reds at Sedgley Park last night. Tommy Grundy was also back on active duty after two weeks out with a back injury, but Lee Wingfield didn't play for the second consecutive reserves game, writes ROGER HALSTEAD. Out for a year, and having had a major knee reconstruction, Lee has made two appearances in the reserves side, but he might still be suffering from the back problem that kept him out of the game against Leigh a week ago. Brooks, Baldwin and Grundy started the game -- Brooks at hooker, Baldwin at No 10 and Grundy in the second-row --- but they were all withdrawn shortly before half time. Grundy and Baldwin did not reappear, but Brooks returned to the field midway through the second half and saw out the remainder of the game. Head coach Steve Deakin looked on as Oldham got off to a flying start with the opening try by new boy Jack Burns from Waterhead, on his debut. After that, Roughyeds were overrun by a faster, more experienced City Reds side which included several players who had dipped their toe in the first-team waters. Stand-off Stefan Ratchford, whose lively running last night cut the Roughyeds defence to pieces, played scrum-half in the Salford side beaten 18-14 by Oldham in the Northern Rail Cup at the start of the season. Lee Jewitt, Chris Borgese and Stephen Bannister, all in the Salford Reserves' pack last night, played in both Salford's Northern Rail Cup clashes with Oldham last February. "They were a lot more experienced than us and quite a few of them had sampled first-team rugby," said Roughyeds coach John Hough. "My lads were enthusiastic and passionate in all they did. Despite the score, I am quite pleased. We kept working hard to the very end and the lads did all that could have been expected of them." It had not gone unnoticed by Hough that, although his new side had lost each of their six league games to date, they had been beaten home and away by the top three teams in the division -- Salford, Leigh and Rochdale Hornets. "We've played the top three home and away," added John, "but now we've got a three-week break before we go to Widnes. The lads will welcome that break because most of them have been playing non-stop for the past eight months and some of them have clocked up more than 40 games. "We are bottom of the league right now, but we've finished with the top three and we've still to play home and away against Widnes, Workington, Hunslet, Featherstone and Barrow. I'll judge my lads when we have played these teams -- we've already won at Featherstone in pre-season -- and when we see where we finish up in the table." The Oldham team last night was given as follows: Dale Lowe; Dwaine Nelson, Adam Jeffries, David Orwell, Jack Burns; Ethan Langhorn, Pat Toft; Alex Eyres, Matty Brooks, Simon Baldwin, Tommy Grundy, Chris CLark, Scot Mansfield. Subs: Martyn Sarsfield, Ben Eaton, Will Schofield, Andy Taylor. |
