This would be the highest placed finish that the club has had since it was relegated into this division.

Club Chairman, Chris Hamilton said “If we can get the 3 points on Sunday against South Wales it will represent a major achievement for the club and everybody connected with it including fans, staff, sponsors, coaches and players. It will be a real pat on the back on the back for all the hard work that has gone in this season.

The players have performed consistently well all year and deserve all the acolades they get. With four games to go everybody is focussed on trying to maintain the winning run and to see where that leaves us come the end of the season.

With the chance for people to be at Whitebank on Sunday and witness another small piece of history hopefully being created, we are urging fans to get down to the ground and cheer the lads on.”

Tickets are available at the Lansdowne Road office and pre-purchase on the day in the social club.

There will be two games being played as a curtain raiser, kicking off at 1:30pm between Higginshaw and Waterhead under 8’s and under 9’s.

Oldham reserves will next be in action on Saturday 7th August, kick off 12:30 at Whitebank Stadium when they play the Widnes Vikings.

The kick off has been brought forward so that fans can watch the Challenge Cup semi final between Leeds and St Helens on the big screen in the clubhouse.

As Oldham kept the ball alive in search for a try which would secure three more crucial points — and deny Blackpool in their own quest to stay within touching distance at the top end of Co-operative Championship One — the free-scoring centre sparked mass celebrations by keeping his cool and sliding over on the left wing off a Gregg McNally pass.

Preceded by a lung-busting run from Wayne Kerr, who somehow kept his legs pumping through the tackles on a 30-metre burst, the match-changing try epitomised what the Roughyeds are all about this season.

Even when the odds are against Tony Benson’s boys, you would have to be mad to bet against them. Put simply, this is a team which consistently finds a way, no matter how contrived or roundabout, to win.

This wasn’t a vintage performance. Too often the Roughyeds spilled the ball early in the tackle count, conceding vital ground.

And the visitors were also helped by a generous scattering of penalties as a result of poor Blackpool discipline.

But on balance, the result was a fair one. And despite the game lacking quality at times, the spectacle was a terrific advert for professional rugby league at this level.

TERRITORY

The two teams exchanged territory in an even and slightly nervy opening to this important clash.

The opening score came from out of the blue. Neil Roden’s high kick on the last tackle didn’t appear to carry much danger until Marcus St Hilaire, who again proved his worth in reading the game like a book throughout, leapt from nowhere to claim the ball and score.

Gregg McNally converted and would have been lining up another had Martin Roden not been held up over the line.

Back came Blackpool. Martin Ainscough plucked McNally’s bouncing grubber and raced away downfield, creating the momentum that Casey Mayberry was able to take advantage of by registering the first try of his double. Tom Hemingway converted to level at 6-6.

A belter of a 40-20 kick from McNally got Oldham on the front foot again and Lucas Onayngo thought he had scored only for referee Clint Sharrad to pull the visitors back for a forward pass in the build-up.

Enter hat-trick hero Paul O’Connor. The number of excellent performances the full-back has put in this season have been matched only by the number of opponents who have threatened to take his head clean off his shoulders.

The latest culprit was Andy Hobson. Returning after a five-game ban, the big prop’s intervention was no more than a result of being wrong-footed by O’Connor’s change in direction.

The resulting penalty saw Oldham march downfield and that man O’Connor burrowed over brilliantly on the left wing after taking Neil Roden’s pass.

Five minutes later, he was performing a similar trick on the opposite wing. Again opting to go under the tackles, this time O’Connor only just managed to get the ball down.

As half-time came, Benson’s men could and should have been further clear than 14-6 to the good.

Blackpool began the second period in determined fashion and after ex-Oldham prop David Best was held up just short of the line, Roughyeds prop Dave Ellison lost control of the ball as the pressure mounted.

Mayberry then produced a terrific run to dart in off the right wing, and Hemingway’s conversion from the right reduced the arrears to a mere two points.

O’Connor completed his treble after 49 minutes, this time as a result of a sweetly-worked move. McNally handed on to Valu Bentley and the loose forward instantly switched play inside to the onrushing full-back, who celebrated the crucial effort in front of a large throng of travelling fans.

Just as important was sterling defensive work soon afterwards. Panthers winger Tom Woodcock looked for all the world as if he was about to score on the right wing, only for John Gillam to pull out a magnificent tackle to dump his opposite number into touch.

Still Blackpool refused to be cowed and shortly before the hour Hemingway’s superbly judged kick to the left corner was claimed by another former Oldham man in Damian Munro.

Hemingway this time missed his kick, leaving his side 20-16 down with a quarter of the game to go.

St Hilaire embarked on an 80-metre surge upfield as the Roughyeds tried to press further ahead, only for Munro to halt him just shy of the try line.

Tempers frayed as the tension got to Best and Gillam. The pair, former team-mates at Oldham St Anne’s, exchanged blows in a minor flashpoint which was forgotten come the final hooter.

Mayberry threatened as the Panthers upped their game once again, before Danny Halliwell — another of the former Roughyeds contingent — dived over following good build-up play by Ainscough.

Hemingway put the home team ahead for the first time in the match and with nine minutes left, the game looked up.

But Woodcock spilled a ball in the tackle near his own line and after McNally forced a drop-out with a well-judged kick, Fogerty’s magic moment arrived just in the nick of time.

by Matthew Chambers

There to support Paul were Roughyeds’ coach Tony Benson, commercial manager Rachael Marsters and several senior players including Craig Robinson, Lucas Onyango and Valu Bentley.

One fan said: “It was a very constructive meeting. Supporters were keen to get the association up and running. Paul is determined to succeed and he will be calling another meeting soon at which he will be looking for people to form his committee.”

The association will strive to raise money for the club in order to provide, among other things, essential training equipment for the players.

Roughyeds will need as much pack power as they can assemble for this second-v-third Championship One clash at Fylde RU Club.

Aussie-reared Sutton hasn’t played since he tweaked a knee ligament while having a great game in the Roughyeds’ 40-26 home win against the Panthers on June 6.

For the past three weeks, however, he has had his sights set on the return match at the Memorial Ground, and his comeback moved closer when he was given the all-clear to play earlier this week.

“Luke’s looking good,” said coach Tony Benson in confirming that Sutton and half-back Matty Ashe will be added to the squad that beat Swinton Lions 42-30 last time out.

Craig Robinson is still sidelined with an upper back injury, while young forward Chris Clarke will face a late fitness test on a knee that has been causing him problems over the last few days.

“Everyone else is fine,” added Benson, “but I need to establish whether Clarkey is going to be okay before I finalise the side.

“Sutton and Ashe will both be in contention. I had close to a full squad training this week, so I will have some decisions to make.”

Oldham (from): O’Connor, Onyango, St Hilaire, Fogerty, Gillam, N Roden, Ashe, McNally, Boults, M Roden, Ellison, Chandler, Clarke, Bentley, Kerr, Whitmore, Heaton, Sutton, Hodson.

“This is a very important game for us,” added the Oldham boss, “but it’s no more important than any of the next four.

“Panthers have spent big and they can trouble anyone in this division, but we have prepared as well as we can and we are looking forward to it.”

Roughyeds expect to be cheered on at the seaside by their biggest away following of the season.

The reserves play Keighley Cougars at Whitebank Stadium tomorrow (Sat), kicking off at 1.00pm.

“I haven’t named a squad yet, but it will mainly comprise the players who were on duty at Widnes last week,” said coach John Hough.

Lifelong fan Paul Whalley has called supporters to a meeting at the Whitebank Stadium tonight (8pm).

“I’ve told Paul the players and I will be there after training to offer our support,” said Benson.

“We are also inviting fans to arrive at Whitebank early and to come into the ground to watch both first-team squad and reserve-team squad in preparation for their important games this weekend.”

Reserves are at home to Keighley Cougars on Saturday (1pm) while Benson’s men go to Blackpool on Sunday (3pm) in a key second-v-third clash in Co-operative Championship One.

Whalley, meanwhile, has again urged fans to get behind his move to form an independent supporters’ group for the purpose of raising money for Roughyeds.

“Now we are in our own ground,” he said, “we have a fantastic opportunity, as supporters, to help the club to progress both on and off the field.

“I’m optimistic about the outcome of tonight’s meeting. Hopefully, we can get off to a good start and then build from there.

“I’m determined to make this work. Genuine fans want to help the club – the work they did at Whitebank proved that — and tonight I will be seeking from them a commitment to the cause.

“It’s all about working in partnership with the club, with fans actively supporting the operation not only on match days through the turnstiles but in various ways throughout the year.”

The 26-year-old former Bradford and Halifax prop, who is in his fourth season with Roughyeds, is in line to play his 99th game in cup and league for Oldham at Blackpool on Sunday and to complete his century seven days later against South Wales Scorpions at Whitebank.

If all goes according to plan, the Yorkshireman will become the second member of Tony Benson’s promotion-seeking squad to join the Roughyeds’ 100-Club this season, following full-back Paul O’Connor’s achievement in the game at Gateshead on July 4.

O’Connor led the side out on Tyneside and was similarly honoured a week later in front of home fans when Swinton Lions were beaten 42-30 at Whitebank, the Roughyeds’ fifth win in a row.

Boults, the unsung hero of Oldham’s front-row, joined the club when Roughyeds began to rebuild in the third tier of the professional game following their disastrous relegation season of 2006 when they went through the entire league programme without winning a game.

He played in 25 Oldham games in 2007 when he, Richard Mervill and Tony Tonks formed the backbone of the front-row, supported by Adam Robinson and Wes Rogers.

Said Tamghart was also prominent that season although he played as much in the second-row as he did at prop.

In 2008 Boults figured in 33 of the club’s 37 games, but even that record of consistency was surpassed by his fellow prop Mervill, who clocked up 35 appearances in a remarkably
dependable front-row.

Sadly for Boults, he grafted through a total of 58 Oldham games in those two seasons only to miss out when the Roughyeds’ teams were selected for both the 2007 and 2008 second division Grand Finals.

In 2007, when Roughyeds were beaten 24-6 by Featherstone Rovers at Headingley, Tonks and Mervill were the starting props with Tamghart providing front-row support from the bench.

A year later, when Ellery Hanley’s Doncaster broke Oldham hearts with an 18-10 win at Warrington, Mervill and Adam Robinson propped from the start with Luke Menzies and Tamghart among the substitutes.

Despite those disappointments Boults again threw his hat into the Roughyeds ring for 2009 when he played 20 times and would have turned out a lot more but for a spell in the early part of that year when he was working abroad and was unavailable in March and April.

He returned to the club to play in the last 17 games of the season, and this time it was third-time lucky for him on Grand Final day when he was picked at No 8, with Wayne Kerr at No 10, in the side agonisingly pipped 28-26 by Keighley Cougars, again at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington.

Menzies and Jamie I’Anson were the back-up props on the bench, Boults at last getting the Grand Final recognition his consistency had earned over three seasons.

To date this year the archetypal players’ player has figured 20 times out of a possible 21, all but two of them in the starting 13.

When he reaches his ton, possibly a week on Sunday, he will become the fourth prop out of only 12 players to have hit that milestone since the birth of Oldham RLFC (1997) Ltd.

Jason Clegg (147 games), Lee Doran (112) and Danny Guest (104) are all members of the 100-Club.

Neil Roden (244 and still going strong) is out in front, followed by John Hough (228), who has had an unbroken 13-year spell of service with the club as player and now reserve-team coach.

Others in the list are Gareth Barber (138), Gavin Dodd (132), Phil Farrell (124), Jon Goddard (110), Joe McNicholas (102) and Paul O’Connor (101).

It will be rugby league-based, but children will be involved in a variety of activities, learning different skills, meeting new friends and having fun.

The camp will be run by Roughyeds’ players and each participant will receive rugby training, tickets to an Oldham RL game and a signed picture with a Roughyeds player.

There will be guest appearances by players who are not actively involved in the camp and also by Roary the Roughyed, the club’s mascot.

To register or find out more contact Roughyeds on 0161 628 3677 by August 11 at the latest.

Cost is £30 per child or £50 for two children from the same family. Children are asked to take with them a morning snack, drink bottle, sun lotion and sun hat.

New pre-match warm-up tops to be worn by the promotion-seeking Roughyeds players will carry the company title in keeping with the Wickes catch-phrase.

And the club will get special deals on materials needed for the ongoing refurbishment of the Roughyeds’ new home at Whitebank Stadium.

“Wickes donated gallons of paint when we were looking for help and rushing to get the ground looking spick and span for the first game in May,” revealed Roughyeds’ commercial manager Rachael Marsters.

“The night before that York game, when staff and fans worked until it went dark to get the ground ready in time, we made five or six visits to Wickes and that was the start of a relationship that has developed rapidly.

“The company has helped us in many ways over the past two and a half months and we are delighted to announce that the partnership will continue, cemented by the new deal incorporating sponsorship of our warm-up tops.”

The deal was endorsed when Rachael and the Roughyeds’ Oldham-born centre Mick Fogerty met Wickes staff and were shown around the company’s Larch Street warehouse, off Manchester Road, which opened last December.

Said store manager Lee Ashworth: “We were impressed by the way Roughyeds tackled their Whitebank project. I’ve been down there a couple of times to see the work that is being done.

“It’s a new venture for the club, as it was for us when we moved across town from Ellen Street to open our new store here a few months ago.

“We were keen to get involved with the community and we are looking forward to an ongoing relationship with Roughyeds which I feel sure will be of mutual benefit.”

On the day Roughyeds were in the store, warehouse staff Carl Kay and Matt Wood were keen to talk rugby with Fogerty, while Samaira Iqbal, the store’s adviser on kitchens and bathrooms, made tentative plans with Rachael to visit Whitebank to watch her first game of rugby league.

At the end of the pool games the 18 competing clubs were positioned, according to the points they had accumulated, in one composite league table and only the top four clubs advanced to the next stage.

Roughyeds, faced with three opponents from the Co-operative Championship, began well with a 14-14 draw against Barrow thanks to one goal and tries by Alistair Williams, Scott Mansfield and Danny Knight.

Next up they played a very strong Sheffield Eagles squad and were well beaten 40-0 by an Eagles side that mainly comprised first-team players.

In their third game they encountered Featherstone Rovers, this time going down 26-12 in a game in which several Roughyeds players, among them Ben Mellor, Ross Coates, Austen Barrowclough and Mark Smith, picked up injuries and had to leave the field.

The Roughyeds’ 12 points were recorded by Tommy Connick and Scott Mansfield, who each scored a try and then added the extras.

In the main the Roughyeds squad was made up of players from the reserve team, most of whom had played at Widnes on Thursday night, because of a spate of injuries affecting members of the first-team squad.

The club and its coaching and medical staff can now turn their attentions to getting senior players fully fit and ready for next Sunday’s vitally important Championship One clash with Blackpool Panthers at Fylde RU, which will go a long way towards determining final league placings at the upper end of the division.

Oldham currently lie second behind Hunslet Hawks with the Panthers tucked into third place.

In the words of coach Martin Crompton, Blackpool still believe they can finish top — to earn automatic promotion — if they can beat both Roughyeds and Hunslet on home soil in the next few weeks.

Roughyeds have a decent record so far this season in the battle of the top three, having won at Hunslet and beaten Blackpool at Whitebank, these victories coming either side of a heavy home defeat by the Hawks.

Panthers will be keen to avenge their 40-26 defeat at Whitebank in early June and Roughyeds will need to be at their best, no doubt supported by one of their biggest away followings of the season.