Head coach Sean Long praised Oldham’s “vigour and intent” after the Roughyeds opened the Betfred League One season with a thumping 48-10 win at Workington.
Joe Wardle image courtesy of Ben Challis
Oldham ran in eight tries from seven different try scorers, all converted by Jamie Ellis, to delight a passionate travelling support and ensure the perfect start to the league campaign
“It was really good,” Long told Roughyeds TV.
“We stayed in the grind, completed high, played the conditions and did exactly what the lads wanted to do.”
Owen Farnworth set the ball rolling when he crashed over from Matty Wildie’s pass, before Wildie himself dummied over for a 12-0 lead.
With the Roughyeds dominant, Ben O’Keefe touched down Logan Astley’s grubber for try number three, Astley playing in the halves with Danny Craven operating from full-back.
Captain Jordan Turner added the fourth after Town full-back Jarrod Sammut made a mess of a high kick, and Joe Wardle powered over impressively for try number five as Oldham forged a commanding 30-0 half-time lead.
Long admitted the third quarter of the game was “a bit scratchy” despite Wardle crossing for his second, as the hosts struck twice down Oldham’s right through Jordan Burns and then Jake Bradley.
But with Wardle and Wildie off the pitch for a rest, the visitors regained the upper hand with the final two tries of the game, George Hirst capping an impressive display with a try and Astley helping himself to the final score of the afternoon.
“Full credit to us, we got back on the horse and started running with some vigour and intent," Long added, after seeing his side bounce back from Cup defeats at York and Swinton.
”It was a good team performance, a good collective team performance and our forwards laid the platform. Our tries looked easy but it was the lead up to that which made it look easy.
”We are missing three of our starters and that will be great for us when they come back but George came in and Brad Gallagher stepped in and I thought they were good."
Workington: Sammut, Lepori, Taylor, Burns, Hutton, Walker, Forber, Thompson, Henson, Lightowler, Bradley, Croston, Walton.
Subs: Marwood, Reid, Key, Hammond
Oldham: Craven, O’Keefe, Turner, Morgan, Agoro, Astley, Ellis, Farnworth, Wildie, J Chapelhow, Wardle, Lawton, T Chapelhow.
Subs: Paga, Johnson, Hirst, Gallagher.
Scorers:
Workington:
Tries: Burns, Bradley.
Goals: Walker
Oldham:
Tries: Farnworth, Wildie, O’Keefe, Turner, Wardle 2, Hirst, Astley.
Goals: Ellis 8.
