OLDHAM coach Alan Kilshaw says that while his side’s Grand Final hopes might have been ended by a blow-out score at London Broncos, the campaign as a whole should be viewed as a success.
The Roughyeds went through a turbulent start to the season during which rugby chief Mike Ford then chairman Bill Quinn departed, while the team were playing out of Bower Fold at Stalybridge while in dispute with Oldham Athletic Football Club over their use of Boundary Park.
There were financial worries and the departure of players such as Riley Dean, Kieran Dixon and Jack Ormondroyd, but Kilshaw, who had arrived in early January as an assistant before stepping up to succeed Ford in February, still steered his side up the table.
A takeover by a consortium led by former players Martin Hall and Terry Flanagan provided stability off the field while on it, the Roughyeds kept racking up the wins.
They were the only side to beat the powerful Broncos in a regular-season league game, 34-24 at Boundary Park in August, and finished third with 21 victories from 24.
A 30-24 setback at home to Widnes in the first stage of the play-offs was only a second defeat in 14, and the Roughyeds responded by beating Midlands at home then Widnes away before being overrun 74-8 in their preliminary final in the capital.
“That was really disappointing and obviously not the way we wanted to end the season,” said Kilshaw.
“But when we look back over the campaign, and we will have a thorough review to see what we can do better, I think there will be more positives than negatives, especially given the disruption.”
