Oldham aiming to spring a shock

NOT FAR FROM HOME: Oldham half-back Danny Grimshaw has a short trip to make to Featherstone on Sunday afternoon.

BUOYED by their 38-16 win against Dewsbury Rams, Oldham will go to Featherstone on Sunday feeling they’ve got to have a realistic chance of causing another upset.

Statistics alone never tell a full story, but the platform on which Roughyeds raced into an astonishing 24-0 interval lead was unquestionably provided by their first-half set completion rate of 93-per-cent.

In the first 20 minutes – which provided tries for Tom Ashton and Gareth Owen – it was a perfect 100-per-cent.

That’s what you call respecting possession — and if Scott Naylor’s men can do it again in the Big Fella’s Stadium with the same energy and controlled aggression that stunned the Rams, Featherstone will know they’ve got a battle on their hands.

Roughyeds haven’t played at Featherstone — still known then as Post Office Road — since they were beaten 24-18 there in 2007. The last time Oldham took anything off them was at Post Office Road in 2005 when a side coached by Gary Mercer drew 20-20 in National League One.

Most of the present-day squad, who will be going to Featherstone for the first time, were still in school at the time.

“It’s ages since I was there myself,” said Naylor. “I haven’t been with any team for many years, but I remember it from my playing days. It’s an iconic ground, one of rugby league’s landmark stadiums, like Watersheddings used to be.

“It’s always been an extremely tough place to go. Our attitudes and mentality will have to be right.”

The one Oldham player who won’t be new to the ground is Danny Grimshaw. Born and still living in nearby Sharlston, he supported Rovers as a boy and even played there early in his career.

‘Grimmy’ will no doubt have had more than a few words in the boss’s ear about what Rovers can be expected to throw at them.

The Rovers boss, short of a hooker following injury to Matty Wildie, will be looking enviously at Naylor’s riches in that department as provided by Gareth Owen, Sam Gee, Kenny Hughes and Adam Files.

Owen, a slow starter in each of the last two campaigns, bounced back to form with a stunning, two-try performance against Dewsbury.

If the smallest man on the Oldham team can work similar magic in the Big Fella’s Stadium, Rovers will know Roughyeds are no pushover.