Starting six awesome as Roughyeds blitz Rams

TOUCH DOWN . . . Danny Langtree dives in underneath the posts

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OLDHAM 38, DEWSBURY RAMS 16

THIS game, far more than those against London and Leigh, was acknowledged in the Oldham camp as one which would genuinely measure their credentials for at least holding their own in the Championship.

Dewsbury are no mugs. The Rams have been in tier two for many a year; they finished a creditable sixth last season and leading up to their first visit to Bower Fold they had won at Swinton and beat Workington at home.

A good test then for Scott Naylor’s men. And what did they do? They smashed ‘em; 24-0 at half-time; 38-16 at the finish; seven tries to three; and a dominant, all-round performance that left a bewildered Dewsbury wondering what had hit them.

Pre-match hype coming out of Yorkshire suggested that highly-rated young backs like Josh Guzdek, Jason Crookes, Ben Reynolds and Andy Kain might rip Oldham apart. Chance would be a fine thing.

Oldham’s fit, young forwards were so convincingly in control of a one-sided first half that the Rams backs didn’t get a sniff until it was far too late and Roughyeds already had the game under lock and key.

The home side’s starting six — Joy, Owen, Spencer, Langtree, Hope, Thompson — were awesome.

They ran like stallions, tackled in numbers, built up a head of steam and caused Rams boss Glenn Morrison to push the panic button with only 17 minutes gone.

At a stroke, and with Roughyeds already 10-0 up, he pulled off his entire front-row and his loose-forward — his middle unit — and replaced them with his four subs, one of whom, Tony Tonks, did only 20 minutes before it was his turn to be replaced by the returning front-rower Toby Adamson.

Oldham’s forwards might have conceded a bit of weight, but they looked fitter, faster, more mobile and full of controlled aggression — qualities Dewsbury struggled to combat and, in trying, gave away a stack of penalties - just as London’s full-timers did in the previous home game.

This time there were two big differences. These opponents didn’t defend as well as London, while Roughyeds were more creative and inventive, especially behind the ruck, where Gareth Owen was back to his exciting best.

Kenny Hughes did an excellent job also in the same role for the middle part of the game. But in the first 22 minutes and the last 15 it was Owen’s job to create from source — dummy half — and he did it brilliantly.

He hoodwinked the Rams defence time and again with trademark dummies, scoring twice and then setting up Oldham’s seventh and final try with an exquisite piece of approach play before releasing Adam Clay to scorch up the touchline and cross in the corner.

Naylor made changes from the Leigh game, Jamel Chisholm and Steve Roper out, Danny Grimshaw in, after injury, for Roper and debut-making loan signing Jake Bibby, from Salford, for Chisholm in a reshaped back division. Bibby was at centre with Jack Holmes moving out to wing.

A major change in the forwards saw Josh Crowley on the bench and out of the starting line-up for the first time in more than three seasons at the club.

Will Hope took his starting place in the second-row, but Crowley was called into action just before half-time, replacing Jack Spencer, and did a typically good job for the remainder of the game.

Finishing powerfully in the corner, Tom Ashton opened Oldham’s account in the fifth minute before Owen scored again soon by selling an outrageous dummy and strolling over the line unopposed.

The first of four sin-bin offences saw Rams winger Dalton Grant shown yellow for tripping. No sooner had he gone that a quick left to right shift gave Oldham the extra man, producing the first of Danny Langtree’s two tries.

Lewis Palfrey kicked his third goal, a penalty, and then Langtree intercepted near half way with a clear run to the posts. Palfrey’s conversion gave Roughyeds a 24-0 interval lead.

Both sides made lots of mistakes in the heavy second-half rain, which was to prove a leveller. This half was more evenly contested, with lots of scrums and yellow cards.

Michael Ward, Owen and Clay recorded Oldham’s second-half tries, while Grant (two) and Jack Teanby replied for Rams.

The visitors retrieved a degree of respectability, but no more than that. They were well and truly beaten by a better side.