Roughyeds roar to sixth straight win

There was no stopping Oldham's victory surge when they dominated Doncaster for nearly all the game to win 32-12 - their sixth Betfred League 1 win in a row.

It was 32-6 until virtually the last kick of the game when a speculative kick downfield led to Doncaster's second try.

The whole Oldham team played well, but there were stand-out individual performances from full-back Luke Hooley and forwards Phil Joy, Danny Bridge and Luke Nelmes.

As a unit, Oldham's pack was immense and none did better than second-row man Bridge, who saved one of his best performances of the year for a match which, pre-game, both clubs described as "massive".

Oldham led 16-0 at half-time with tries by Danny Langtree and Hooley and four goals by Paul Crook.

In the second half there were further tries by Nelmes, Lee Kershaw and Joy with two more goals by Crook.

As one would expect, Oldham head coach Scott Naylor was hugely satisfied with the Roughyeds' all-round show.

Before kick-off, injured non-playing prop Jack Spencer described this game as "massive to both clubs".

Roughyeds had to win to keep hold of third place and victory never looked in doubt.

Said Naylor: "It was a great team performance. One to 17 were awesome.

"It was a very important game for both clubs in the context of league placings and the season as a whole, and it was probably our best all-round performance of the season so far.

"We had a dodgy spell of about ten to 15 minutes in the second half, but apart from that we were brilliant.

"We were aggressive and determined in everything we did and our defence was outstanding.

"They scored one try from close range and another from a long kick downfield in the last minute but for most of the game we were definitely in control.

"It's a great day for our club and also for our chairman. We hope it will help his recovery.

"We must now kick-on, keep working hard and keep improving and if we do that we should be in the mix at the end of the season."

His reference to club chairman Chris Hamilton was a reminder that the club's owner is recovering and recuperating after major heart surgery last Tuesday.