Top brass to join Roughyeds fans' walk in tribute to Rob Burrow

Oldham RLFC managing director Mike Ford

Bill Quinn (chairman), Mike Ford (managing director), and Jim Minton (financial director) will represent Oldham RLFC when they take part in the YEDS’ sponsored walk from Boundary Park to the Crown Oil Arena at Rochdale on Sunday, July 28 when Oldham play there.

All money raised by the YEDS, the club’s enterprising and go-ahead supporters’ group, will be for the late Rob Burrow’s continued fight against Motor Neurone Disease.

Bill, Mike and Jim, the Roughyeds’ top brass, will take it in turn to push Bill Minton in his wheelchair.

Aged 93, Bill is Jim’s dad and a lifelong Oldham fan, who has been supporting the club for more than 80 years.

There will be a bucket collection en route and the YEDS hope as many people as possible will join the walk, rugby league fans or not, YEDS members or not.

The walk is aimed specifically at Oldham fans who will be going to the Rochdale game, but YEDS stress that no one will be turned away.

Entry fee is £5, but the bulk of the money for the fight against MND, in memory of Rob, will be raised by sponsorship.

Details can be found on the YEDS website.

They’re also given on the YEDS’ Facebook page and the event page they have created.

The Rob Burrow tributes dominated the weekend’s Challenge Cup Finals at Wembley - a massive day for the sport which meant that Oldham, like all other clubs in tiers one to three, had a blank weekend.

The next match for Oldham is at Gateshead against Newcastle Thunder on June 16 (2pm kick-off) - a must-win game following the defeat at Keighley and despite last week’s last-gasp drop-goal winner by Danny Craven against North Wales Crusaders in Colwyn Bay.

It crowned a magnificent fightback in which Sean Long’s heroes dug deep into their reservoir of desire, determination, self-belief, fitness, team spirit and positive attitude, but for an hour they fell well below the standard required and that will be uppermost in the mind of coach and management ahead of the long trip to the Tyne.

As Wigan boss Matt Peet said after his Wembley triumph: “I’m so proud of a bunch of lads who refuse to lose!”

Until Keighley Oldham had refused to lose too - well, at least in the league - and the fightback in North Wales, allied to the way we dominated much of the second half at Cougar Park, augurs well for the second half of the season.

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