FEW clubs can have entered the Championship from the bottom tier with a team as strong as Oldham possess.
They romped to the League One title by recruiting a side good enough for the Championship, and now they have added experienced Super League quality in the likes of Matty Ashurst, Adam Milner, Iain Thornley, Gil Dudson and Josh Drinkwater.
Although it won’t help much in their stated ambition to reach Super League, which will have to wait a little while yet due to club grading, a place at the top end of the table appears a realistic target on the tier-two return.
A strong pack should be a match for most while Drinkwater and Danny Craven pulling the strings is an exciting prospect.
Throw in a dual-registration deal with Wigan, providing access to the best talent pool in the sport today, and Oldham ought to be a force to be reckoned with.
Watch out for… Another season of Phoenix Laulu-Togaga’e on loan from Hull KR. PLT scored 15 tries in 18 appearances for Oldham last season, which resulted in the fullback winning the League One Young Player of the Year award for a second time (after doing so with Keighley in 2021). He’s only played a handful of games at Championship level before, making this a very important season in his nascent career.
Squad: 1 Logan Astley, 2 Kieran Dixon, 3 Jordan Turner, 4 Iain Thornley, 5 Mo Agoro, 6 Danny Craven, 7 Riley Dean, 8 Gil Dudson, 9 Matty Wildie, 10 Owen Farnworth, 11 Matty Ashurst, 12 Adam Lawton, 13 Adam Milner, 14 Bailey Aldridge, 15 Jay Chapelhow, 16 Pat Moran, 17 Elijah Taylor, 18 Jumah Sambou, 19 Ted Chapelhow, 20 Jack Johnson, 21 Lewis Baxter, 22 Cian Tyrer, 23 Josh Drinkwater, 24 Ben O’Keefe, 25 Craig Kopczak, 26 Brad Gallagher, 27 Ben Forster, 28 McKenzie Yei, 29 Marcus Geener, 30 George Hirst, 31 Phoenix Laulu-Togaga’e.
Rugby League World predicts: 7th
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 505 (February 2025)
