OLDHAM 30 MIDLANDS HURRICANES 10
KASEY SMITH, Boundary Park, Friday

OLDHAM secured a ninth straight league victory, getting the better of Midlands who dumped them out of the 1895 Cup seven days earlier.

Midlands came from 24 points down to defeat Oldham by six last week, taking full advantage of a series of Oldham errors, but this time they were met by a far more resolute opponent.

Roughyeds’ poor tackling was punished last week, but it was the complete opposite in the rematch. Time and again, multiple Roughyeds defenders swarmed the Midlands ball carriers and drove them backwards.

Midlands made the most of limited possession, showing a real clinical edge to come away with ten points from very little territory.

Given Oldham’s dominance in field position, they might have put the contest to bed earlier, but credit must go to the Hurricanes’ ferocious defence, which consistently disrupted play and proved highly effective at forcing turnovers.

The home side opened the scoring following a wayward pass that sailed past everyone except Morgan Smith, who collected and burst forward into space. Jack Walker then fired a cut-out pass to Luke Forber, and the winger showed more impressive acrobatics to dive over in the corner.

After being held up three times in quick succession, Roughyeds finally broke through at the fourth attempt, with Forber once again proving unstoppable as he rose highest to collect an Oldham kick on the last and powered over.

There was no sign of panic in the Roughyeds’ attack either. Oldham stayed patient and continued to build pressure, before Brad Day grabbed the third try, using his strength to power over from close range after the hosts had been camped on the Midlands line.

The Hurricanes struggled to gain field position, often forced to kick from deep inside their own territory. However, Lewis Else offers them a spark of brilliance, capable of creating something out of nothing – as was demonstrated last week.

And Else’s magic kept Midlands within touching distance as his clever chip beyond the back line found Ryan Johnson who grounded, just before the break.

Midlands were ultimately the architects of their own downfall. They showed excellent scrambling defence throughout the night, repeatedly denying Oldham potential tries, but a series of unforced knock-ons deep in their own half kept handing possession back and allowed Oldham to maintain pressure.

That patient Oldham play paid off for Roughyeds again. They forced four back-to-back sets on the Midlands line, before finding Forber in the corner for his hat-trick following a slick, looping Josh Drinkwater pass.

But Midlands kept pressing, and their persistence finally told when Sully Medforth sold a dummy to stroll over under the posts and converted himself.

However, Oldham stayed firmly in control, maintaining a two-score lead, and the decisive blow came five minutes from time, delivered in style by Matty Wildie who broke from dummy-half with intent.

He had Jaron Purcell charging hard in support, and Wildie fired a precise pass that sent him crashing over under the posts, sealing the win and breaking the Hurricanes’ spirit.

Matty Ashurst put the icing on the cake when Oldham broke through again, with the second-rower wrapping up a hard-fought win.

Drinkwater, having failed to convert any of the three first-half tries, knocked them all over in the second.

GAMESTAR: Jaron Purcell was a menace and he got his reward late on when he sealed the win for Oldham.

GAMEBREAKER: When Matty Wildie broke through and set Purcell off, it was game over for the Hurricanes.

MATCHFACTS

OLDHAM
1 Jack Walker
21 Tom Nisbet
5 Jake Bibby
3 Ben O’Keefe
29 Luke Forber
6 Morgan Smith
23 Josh Drinkwater
15 Ted Chapelhow
9 Matty Wildie
22 Tom McKinney
11 Matty Ashurst
26 Brad Day
13 Adam Milner
Subs
12 Ryan Lannon
18 Jaron Purcell
24 Marcus Geener (not used)
27 Bayley Liu

Tries: Forber (9, 22, 52), Day (30), Purcell (76), Ashurst (79)
Goals: Drinkwater 3/6

HURRICANES
1 Todd Horner
2 Matty Chrimes
3 Ryan Johnson
21 Zach Jebson
22 Cian Tyrer
19 Sully Medforth
7 Lewis Else
8 Jon Luke Kirby
14 Brandon Moore
10 Tyler Dickinson
11 Tom Wilkinson
20 Toby Warren
13 Mikey Wood
Subs (all used)
9 Aiden Roden
15 Elliot Morris
16 Zeus Silk
28 Isaac Shaw

Tries: Johnson (35), Medforth (65)
Goals: Medforth 1/2

SCORING SEQUENCE: 4-0, 8-0, 12-0, 12-4; 18-4, 18-10, 24-10, 30-10

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Oldham: Jaron Purcell; Hurricanes: Lewis Else

Penalty count: 7-3
Half-time: 12-4
Referee: Ryan Cox
Attendance: 1,012