Roughyeds eye cup upset as BBC focus shines on Long's charges

Roughyeds head to Barrow tomorrow (Saturday) in search for another upset in the Challenge Cup third round when the two sides kick off at 12:30pm.

Oldham have not progressed past the initial stage of the competition since 2021, but after some strong results early on, Sean Long’s men will be confident.

Elijah Taylor, who was captain in Sunday’s 18-18 draw with London, believes competition for places has helped drive standards which will stand them in good stead against Barrow.

“The younger players who played last weekend stepped up and took their opportunity,” he said.

“There’s a lot of depth here at Oldham and they’re applying pressure and competition for those starting positions.

“A lot of them haven’t played Super League but they stood up well especially with the amount of defending to do and the fact our completion rate was 50%.

“Going into the game against Barrow, which will be another tough test, we just need to fix those play-the-balls up and I think we will be okay.”

Boss Long confirmed after the game he would be seeking clarity off the referees regarding the play-the-ball rules, ahead of the game tomorrow.

Changes to the law mean players now have to make a genuine attempt to play-the-ball.

There has been confusion over what is and what is not a “genuine attempt” with Oldham conceding eight play-the-ball infringements last weekend, despite barely any in the earlier victory over Halifax.

Tomorrow’s game, which will be broadcast live on the BBC Sport website and iPlayer, will be a tough one given five of Barrow’s eight wins in the championship last year came at home.

Back available for selection will be Mo Agoro and Ted Chapelhow who both sat out of the London game with head knocks.

Squad in full: Agoro, Aldridge, Astley, J.Chapelhow, T.Chapelhow, Craven, Ellis, Farnworth, Jack Johnson, Josh Johnson, Kopczak, Lawton, Moran, Morgan O’Keefe, Paga, Rawsthorne, Taylor, J.Turner, Wardle, Wildie.

Tickets for the Barrow game are priced at £12 for adults and free for under-16s and can be bought at the Raiders ticketing page.

The Yeds Supporters Group are also running coach travel at just £5 per person - anybody interested should email: theyedsgroup@gmail.com

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