18 replies to this topic

[oldham13]

Rochdale Hornets 22 Oldham 24

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[m brooksy]

Scrappy game overall which ebbed and flowed throughout the course of the game. Rochdale controlled the first half and probably should have gone in a few more points in front at half time whereas in the second half I felt we were in full control right from the kick off until the last five minutes where Rochdale could have snatched it.

I thought our full back (Leopari?) had a stormer and looks like a cracking addition with power, pace and acceleration which led to a cracking first half try. Crowley again had a very good game in the second row and Langtree was excellent off the bench. Palfrey looked much better at stand off but needs to improve his defence. Bloomfield had a bit of a shocker against his old team whilst Agoro on the other wing looked a potentially very good player. I still think we are a prop and centre light if we want to win the league but again there was promising signs.

[eclecticsheep]

The gent next to me remarked regarding the many forward passes that Oldham were pulled up for (rightly so! The ref in my opinion had a good game) were just the early gellings of a new squad getting used to the heat of competition, and they will come good, Oldhams no 11 had a good game, dont know his name, in fact I dont know most of them now.
in the first half our right flank was wide open and Rochdale when they spread the ball to that side always looked dangerous. I think the Hornets bombed it in the end, Oldham were keen, highly motivated and plenty of talking and enthusiasm, I agree also we are a busting offloading prop short, 826 crowd, Very nice weather ground and pitch, nice to see Chris Baines on the park, and the only other things to mention is that there were some steepling high balls to handle, maybe we need a little work there, and tackling round the legs, though the Rochdale Number 7 who looked certain to score was stopped dead by a textbook Tackle!
When the Law cup was presented though you could see the sheer elation on the Oldham Youngsters faces...An important game to win!
Rochdale Hornets are going to be tough to beat this season, they`ll get better too, I could see their own potential.

[rugbyman1]

A very enjoyable game and very even contest. Only two friendlies in and I thought we were an improvement on last week. Agree our fullback looked good and Palfrey better at No 6.Scott Naylor is clearly his own man, spent the match watching from the opposite stand without distraction. He clearly commands respect from the lads.

Vocals from the crowd was good to hear though Kev will never make the X factor but was on top form today. Rochdale had Gary Wheeler and a few other Saints first team fringe players.Thought our forwards stood up well with no step backwards.

Ref was poor in first half gifting Rochdale a try by getting in the way and missing a forward pass that even RU would be embarassed with.

Pleased to see some fans returning from old. Chap behind me had to ask which was Oldham and he'd heard we were a new team. Hope to see him and many more next time.

Well done lads, and look forward to the season

[boro hornet]

the try the referee got in the way for was chalked off

[rugbyman1]

Correct but the ref then wiped the tackle count and gave a scrum to Rochdale because he was in the way. Rochdale scored as a result of this

[boro hornet]

but thats the laws of the game at this moment in time

[Ex-scrumhalf]

the try the referee got in the way for was chalked off

It was, but he then gave a scrum to Hornets who then immediately scored. I don't say he made a wrong decision but a scrum so close to the Oldham line, together with another six, always meant that we were likely to concede. Not the refs fault but as the guy next to me said when on the last tackle near the opponents line seek out the ref and kick it right at him??? Seems like a good ploy to me, not that Hornets did that of course. (And that is not sarcasm)
Overall I was disappointed with our first half defence and the fact that we still seem to play one man rugby up the middle. Only occasionally did we spread it about but when we did it got results. In the second half someone broke from well inside his own half, I wish I knew who half of these players are, it was probably the best break of the game but despite seeing men on both sides of him he opted to go alone and got tackled. Had we scored, which we most certainly would have had he passed the ball inside to the supporting full back, I think it could well have taken the game well away from Hornets and not left us hanging on for the last ten minutes.
Hopefully Naylor can sort out the defence and with any luck start to get them spraying the ball around a bit more like Hornets did.
Someone said the stand off had a decent game but I thought his out of hand kicking was a bit slow and gave the opposition time to get up on him and spoil his kick. Perhaps someone should tell him he doesn't need to read the adverts on the ball before he kicks it. All in all the result was about right and there were positives to work on before the season starts properly.
I have not been to many matches in the last few years but I do want to go more often, however it will take an improvement on today's game to get me there every week. For now I will pick my matches, but it's a start, I didn't go at all last year.

[Tony Mac]

Thought we played very well in parts but not as consistently well as last week. Defensively, we missed too many tackles and were sometimes slow to get up to the Rochdale players. Having said that, I thought that was probably down to Rochdale's enthusiasm. Stand out for me was Lepori who looked a real good prospect at full back, and reminded me of a little of POC. Felt we played it too much up the middle and never really brought our backs not it as much as Rochdale did, once again, possibly down to Rochdale's enthusiasm. Do feel slightly worried about our right hand side defence at the moment as Danny Samuels struggles pace wise, and is probably more a 2nd rower rather than a centre. Maybe Cookson is destined for there come the start of the season.

Positive is that we won and it was only our second game playing together. And Rochdale will be in the mix at the end of the season.

Well done lads

[ruffyed]

Must confess I'm a bit dismayed at the amount of negative comments being posted about todays performance ... hard to believe we have just beaten one of our main rivals at their own ground . No it wasn't perfect but it was only the second game for a group of predominantly young inexperienced players who can only get better. Rochdale probably shaded the first half but I thought we totally bossed the second half up until the last 5 minutes or so and if there was a criticism we could and should have finished them off then but that killer instinct will hopefully come with more game time .

Worth remembering that Scott Naylor probably still doesn't yet know his best starting 17 and he was able to look at a few different options today whilst picking up another win so I'm sure he'll take that . One thing we've all learnt is that there is a tremendous team spirit amongst this group of players which ultimately was the reason for the win imo and that can only bode well for the future .

Well done lads ....so far so good. Couple of weeks of more hard work and we'll be ready for the first serious action against another of our main rivals this season ...the Cru ... can't wait .

[thinboyfat]

My first game back for quite a while and agree with the majority of posts. However in my opinion we won this game ( and I considered it a close run thing) because second half we out enthused Hornets.

Edited by thinboyfat, 18 February 2013 - 01:11 AM.

[john in oz]

My first game back for quite a while and agree with the majority of posts. However in my opinion we won this game ( and I considered it a close run thing) because second half we out enthused Hornets.

Being more enthusiastic than the opposition and thus winning the game doesn't sound bad to me.........champion team beats team of champions and all that.

Thanks to you guys for all the posts and keeping me up to date with what's happening to my beloved ORLFC.

[HARRYRUBY]

I thought the full back had a tremendoes game and was my Oldham Man of the match.

Early days yet Scott Naylor needs to use the cup competition to find his best team

We could do with another couple of forwards to add to the squad.

The league is the most important and it is a case of stepping into the unknown with the new teams in the league.

[TOSH1960]

Thoroughly enjoyed the game. Lots of errors but also some great play by both sides. If this is Rochdale with Saints players in and Oldham with just Adam Files from Salford, it could be interesting if Oldham get hold of a few more Salford lads. Maybe that would fill any gaps there are and we have Cookie coming back soon in the Centre. It was great to see the enthusiasm of the Oldham team and they way they continually worked for each other and encouraged each other. Great start and looking forward to what the season brings.

[allroughyed]

Who enjoyed the singing ? Mo Mo... Mo Mo Mo Mo... Mo Mo Mo Mo , Mo Mo Mo Agoro !!!!!!!!!!

[RunItOffAfi]

Agree with nearly everything that's been said here, but another issue is our discipline, which was poor last week (so was Salford's) and same again yesterday, especially in the first half, when, on several occasions, we had Hornets pinned in their own half, only to piggy back them down the field with a silly penalty. Needs sorting and quickly. I go back to an old saying of Mike Ford's, something along the lines of if you get 5 more penalties than the opposition, that's potentially 30 extra tackles that they have to make and, more often than not, that'll win you the game.

On a positive note, Lepori looks a real find (his take of that dipping bomb near the end was sensational) and, I agree, in the mould of POC. Also, Adam Files' pace when he scored his try from 10 yards was electric, the Hornets defenders had hardly moved by the time he reached the line.

A lot of positives from the two games, but a lot to work on, which is probably no more than Scott Naylor and Spanner expected.

[oldham13]

Adam Files will score a lot of try's this season from similar positions, his speed around the play the balls and the ruck is excellent and his vision near the try line from the play the ball is fantastic. Adam will be a Super League after his loan move with Oldham of course........

Lepori is a quality full back with good defensive and offensive vision.

I am quietly impressed with the team and I am looking forward to the season. I am impressed with the work ethnic which can not be faulted at the moment, I am sure their is no hiding in Scott Naylor's teams....it is work, work, work and then work harder.

I was hoping for a strong promotion campaign this season because I have never really been bothered at the Train Spotters Cup but now the RFL have introduced the NRC Bowl for the top two qualifying teams from the group stages, We must be thinking we can make the NRC bowl final and have a strong season.

Positive thinking promotes positive actions!!!!

Come on Oldham.

[Red mamma]

Came over to watch this and as a Salford fan I was amazed by the atmosphere, it took me back to our days in the shed, loads of great banter, loved it. Was very impressed with our old boy, Rich Lapori, aka lippy, he was fab for you, think your in for an exciting season and hopefully a nice promotion too, good luck to you.

[ruffyed]

Glad you enjoyed it Red Mamma ...sometimes it takes an outside view to remind us what an entertaining product we have... there's still life outside SL .... hope you can make it over for a few more games ...as you say it could be an exciting year . Really pleased for the Salford fans that the mess has been resolved ....hope things settle down now and you can get a competitive side back out on the park . Good luck for the rest of the season .j