Oldham are Bull-dozed!

BATTLE STATIONS . . . Lewis Palfrey finds the going tough as he tries to make progress

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THE number of penalties Oldham are conceding is becoming a major concern and one that needs sorting out quickly if they are to halt their downward spiral.

There was more to this 48-4 defeat by a Bradford Bulls side that has now regained a top-four spot than Roughyeds' inability to satisfy referee Callum Straw at the ruck.

Nevertheless, it is fast becoming the norm for Scott Naylor's men to take a bashing on penalties and that inevitably gives the opposition licence to hug possession and set up camp in the areas of the field that suit them best.

That was the story of last night's match - that and Bradford's ability to play high-speed attacking rugby out wide in incessant drizzle and with a greasy ball that often slipped through Oldham fingers.

The speed and precision of Oscar Thomas's slick delivery to his outside runners from centre field underpinned the differences between a side with immediate Super League ambitions and one that is scrapping for its life in the lower reaches of the Championship.

The gulf was plain to see yet, for all that, Oldham never once let their heads go down even though they spent most of the game chasing and tackling and trying to nullify the power of Bradford's forwards; the creativity of Thomas and Lewis Charnock; and the strong finishing of James Clare, Johnny Campbell and Jay Pitts.

For the home side, teenage tall boy Sam Wood, on dual-reg from Huddersfield at left centre, came up with a first-rate performance that would have been good at the best of times.

However, this one was extremely special here, given that he was distraught by the tragic death of his close friend, Ronan Costello, from injuries received in a Giants academy game last weekend.

Sammy Gee wasn't faultless at full-back, but he always plays as though he means it.

If there was anyone to run Wood close as Oldham's best on the night it would be half-back Gareth Owen, a little man with a big heart who tried everything he knew to get his side's limited attack on the move.

How appropriate then that it was Owen's angled grubber near the end which paved the way for Wood to register Oldham's only try - a combination from two players who, for their determination and energy levels alone, didn't deserve to be on the losing side.

But back to those punishing penalties that made Bradford's task look so much easier.

Four of them were awarded against Oldham in the first quarter of an hour, at which point referee Straw called out Roughyeds captain Lewis Palfrey for a few words.

For the rest of the half, both sides behaved themselves, but after half-time Oldham got it wrong again and were hit by six punishments in a row.

It ended up 11-4 to Bradford and left the Oldham camp wondering what they need to do in order to get on the right side of officialdom .

Bradford were three tries up in the opening quarter of an hour, after which Roughyeds worked extremely hard to keep them at bay.

Going in at half-time 14-0 down would at least have reflected the home side's determination, but they couldn't stop Charnock scoring to make it 20-0 and that, ominously, was a sign of things to come.

Bradford added another five tries after the break, including two by Clare and a long, touchline-hugging effort by peerlesss Pitts.

Apart from their never-say-die spirit and stubborn refusal to give in, there wasn't much to get excited about for Oldham.

One lasting memory would be Michael Ward's mighty charge up the middle near the end which took out Alex Mellor and left Ward himself needing stitches also.

Another positive was the way in which Craig Briscoe did 15 minutes either side of half time without, apparently, feeling so much as a twinge.

Not all then is doom and gloom in the Oldham camp - far from it.