OLDHAM 74 WORKINGTON TOWN 4
IAN WILSON, Bower Fold, Stalybridge, Sunday

OLDHAM maintained their winning league run, which now stands at six, by comfortably defeating brave but outclassed Workington.

With no disrespect whatsoever to the visitors, some of the fears that there would be too many uncompetitive match-ups for comfort with the fixture format cobbled together for the second tier in 2026 now seem to be coming home to roost.

This one ended at 13 tries and eleven conversions, ten from twelve by Riley Dean and the last by Matty Ashurst, to Town’s solitary try.

Not that Workington didn’t put in effort, but they were outpowered, outpaced and outskilled, and the nature of the game these days means that such disparities lead to only one outcome.

Thus, after they had made a mistake in fielding the kick-off, and immediately conceded a six-again and then a penalty, the Cumbrian side didn’t touch the ball in the Roughyeds’ half until early in the second quarter.

As it happened, they actually got over the line then, too. After a good drive by Lucas Castle and a clever grubber by Dom Wear which earned a repeat set, Rio Corkill crashed over wide out.

But that only brought the score back to 30-4, as Oldham had gone over no fewer than five times by the 19th minute.

Kieran Dixon started the avalanche in the third when he finished off a right-to-left shift wide out – and he then repeated the trick on the right just five minutes later, after a clever Matty Wildie grubber had earned six more.

Then came Dean’s first, in the 13th minute, then a cracker for Ted Chapelhow, in support after a devastating short burst by the superb Jaron Purcell, then Bayley Liu powered over from close range.

Add five superb Dean conversions and it was 30-0.

There followed ten or so minutes of an even contest, but a Josh Drinkwater break when the defence expected him to create for someone else, leading to an Ashurst score in the veteran’s remarkable 400th match, started the scoreboard rolling again.

Two more Dean tries, identical to his earlier one as he ghosted though defensive spaces from close range, completed the first half scoring. With seven Dean goals up to that point, it was 46-4.

Not surprisingly, perhaps, the second half was a much closer affair, with Town having a fair share of both possession and field position – though they were unable to break down Oldham’s virtually watertight defence.

Alex Donaghy showed some glimpses of class during this period, and Wear and Jake Carter tried hard to create something, even if their efforts came to nothing.

Workington’s defence also improved significantly – for example, they actually managed to halt two sets in their own red zone within the final five minutes, a reflection of their ongoing commitment, certainly.

Oldham were, though, able to add a further five tries after the interval.

Liu scored his second and Ewan Moore got two, the second after a remarkable 50-metre dash down the right touchline.

And there were also scores for two debutants. Luke Forber climbed acrobatically to take a Drinkwater kick to go over untouched, then local lad Sam Littler drove over for the most popular try of the afternoon from close range in the final minute, with milestone man Ashurst landing his goal.

GAMESTAR: Riley Dean gets the nod for a hat-trick of tries, a superb display of kicking from the tee and several assists, but fellow Oldham halfback Josh Drinkwater pushed him close.

GAMEBREAKER: A 30-0 scoreline at the end of the first quarter tells the full tale.

MATCHFACTS

OLDHAM
2 Kieran Dixon
21 Tom Nisbet
22 Bayley Liu
5 Jake Bibby
29 Luke Forber
7 Riley Dean
23 Josh Drinkwater
15 Ted Chapelhow
9 Matty Wildie
10 Owen Farnworth
11 Matty Ashurst
18 Jaron Purcell
13 Adam Milner
Subs (all used)
12 Ryan Lannon
14 Cole Geyer
16 Ewan Moore
25 Sam Littler

Tries: Dixon (3, 8), Dean (13, 34, 40), Chapelhow (16), Liu (19, 63), Ashurst (30), Moore (55, 71), Forber (66), Littler (79)
Goals: Dean 10/12, Ashurst 1/1

TOWN
5 Alex Donaghy
29 Jake Dickinson
3 Rio Corkill
4 Braden Leigh
19 Spencer Fulton
6 Jake Carter
7 Dom Wear
15 Callum Farrer
14 Callum Phillips
17 Lucas Castle
26 Tuarae Rawhiti
28 Jack Ainley
25 Bear Williams
Subs (all used)
9 Jamie Doran
11 Mason Lewthwaite
16 Guy Graham
24 Grant Reid

Tries: Corkill (27)
Goals: Carter 0/1

SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 12-0, 18-0, 24-0, 30-0, 30-4, 36-4, 40-4, 46-4; 52-4, 58-4, 64-4, 68-4, 74-4

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Oldham: Riley Dean; Town: Alex Donaghy

Penalty count: 8-7
Half-time: 46-4
Referee: Luke Bland
Attendance: 790