Benson sounds Oldham warning

CRAIG Lawton (centre) is playing a starring role for Doncaster.

OLDHAM Roughyeds will have to stick to the game plan in order to preserve their unbeaten record at Doncaster on Monday (3pm kick-off).

That is the verdict of coach Tony Benson, who has been impressed with the way the South Yorkshire outfit have bounced back from a terrible start to the campaign.

Tony Miller’s side lost every one of their four Northern Rail Cup pool matches and the first of their Co-operative Championship One fixtures at Hornets RL.

Then came the bombshell of a 24-0 Keepmoat Stadium whitewash against amateurs Siddal in the Carnegie Challenge Cup — a result which shocked the rugby league world.

From that nadir, though, Doncaster have bounced back impressively.

A battling 18-8 loss to new boys South Wales Scorpions is the only home defeat Miller’s men have suffered in the league programme so far.

The team enters this game on a decent run of only one reverse in four matches, seeing off York, London Skolars and Gateshead.

Benson argues that even with the solitary defeat in that sequence, 48-12 at Blackpool on Friday, the score conceals a good effort from an improving side.

“Doncaster have got a lot of players back from injury and a few back from last season, too,” said Benson, who hopes to pick up a seventh straight league win of a so-far impeccable campaign.

“Dean Colton has joined them again and they have got three new players from Dewsbury (Paul Hughes, Liam Crawley and Rob Lunt).

“I saw them against Blackpool and they played very well to push to within two points on 55 minutes.

“They are quite an experienced side, too, when you look at them across the park.

“But we have worked on a plan in training to solve the problems we believe they will pose for us — and if we put those plans into practice, we will show up well.”

Benson admits he would have “loved” to have snapped up Doncaster second row Craig Lawton in pre-season.

The Yorkshireman imp-ressed in 2009 after signing a short-term contract with the club and took to the field at loose forward as Oldham agonisingly fell just short in a 28-26 play-off final against Keighley.

Lawton is now plying his trade with Doncaster once more, the club he left to join the Roughyeds as a result of financial difficulties which contributed to relegation from the Championship last term.