OLDHAM 50 YORK KNIGHTS 4
IAN WILSON, Boundary Park, Sunday
A VIBRANT atmosphere, two sides with serious ambitions for the future, and some high-quality Rugby League provided an excellent start to the Championship season in the first game at Boundary Park at this level for many years.
And if anyone thought that last week’s comfortable Oldham win over Barrow was a one-off, the Roughyeds’ first-half display here will have quickly disabused them.
Four tries to one, and by far the majority of the play and the territory, set up what went on to be another comfortable home victory to seal Oldham’s first two points of 2025.
Four more converted tries in an equally one-sided second half simply hammered home the message. York will have gone home with an awful lot of thinking to do.
The Roughyeds’ pressure began soon after the kick-off, and when Will Dagger dropped an early Josh Drinkwater bomb, under severe pressure, quick passing from right to left allowed Matty Ashurst to power through Liam Harris to go over. Kieran Dixon kicked the first of his five goals before half-time, as well as all four after the break, and the Oldham charge was on.
It was powerful and very efficient work by a home pack that gave the impression of each knowing precisely his job, and doing it to virtual perfection, that formed the foundation of the win.
Add the even greater efficiency of the halfbacks, combined with real strike power outside, and it was just too much for the Knights to cope with.
Ata Hingano and Liam Harris tried to create something for them throughout, and they had a marginal reward after their side won their only three penalties of the game midway through the first half.
First, Jesse Dee knocked on over the try line, and then a three to one overlap down their right side was wasted by poor execution between Kieran Buchanan and Joe Brown.
The pressure did lead to one try, however, when Brown got on the end of a long cut-out pass by Harris. But it proved to be just a temporary interlude in the overall Oldham dominance.
Three more scores came during the third quarter, the first one to Phoenix Laulu-Togagae after a clean break by Ashurst.
And then came the real crowd-pleaser. From a long Hingano high kick, successfully taken by PLT 20 metres from his own line, he chose to transfer the ball infield, and on the opposite side of the field, youngster Jumah Sambou began one of what are becoming his standard long powerful runs. When stopped 20 metres from the York line, he somehow managed an overhead pass to the supporting Dixon, who finished off the move untouched. Wow!
Then came two tries to Sambou himself, just before and just after the half-time break.
The first was on the hooter, touching down a Drinkwater grubber after a ricochet, and then in the 41st minute, just to make sure any Knights’ attempted recovery was quickly aborted, it was a solo drive through two attempted tackles from about 15 metres out.
And eight minutes later, after another Drinkwater kick had forced a repeat set, Owen Farnworth offloaded out of a tackle for the in-support Matty Wildie to dart over also untouched.
The remaining half-hour was merely icing on the Oldham cake, with the penalty count against the Knights gradually mounting, and the resulting pressure inevitable telling.
Only two further tries resulted, though, which does say something for the Knights’ resilience at least. They went to Dixon, for his second, after a clever blind-side move in which both Adam Milner and Ashurst featured.
And Ashurst also scored his own second, which capped a superb display by the experienced backrower in a clear Oldham statement of intent.
GAMESTAR: Matty Ashurst gave an 80-minute display of classic second-row play, with the first and last tries of the afternoon added in for good measure.
GAMEBREAKER: Jumah Sambou’s tries just before and just after half-time sealed the home win.
MATCHFACTS
OLDHAM
31 Phoenix Laulu-Togagae
20 Jack Johnson
4 Iain Thornley
18 Jumah Sambou
2 Kieran Dixon
7 Riley Dean
23 Josh Drinkwater
8 Gil Dudson
9 Matty Wildie
15 Jay Chapelhow
11 Matty Ashurst
17 Elijah Taylor
13 Adam Milner
Subs (all used)
16 Pat Moran
30 George Hirst
21 Ted Chapelhow
10 Owen Farnworth
Tries: Ashurst (4, 69), Laulu-Togagae (21), Dixon (35, 61), Sambou (40, 41), Wildie (49)
Goals: Dixon 9/9
KNIGHTS
1 Will Dagger
2 Joe Brown
3 Kieran Buchanan
23 Levi Edwards
26 Myles Harrison
6 Ata Hingano
7 Liam Harris
8 Jack Martin
9 Paul McShane
13 Jordan Thompson
11 Jesse Dee
20 Oli Field
16 Jacob Gannon
Subs (all used)
15 Jack Teanby
19 Sam Cook
24 Harvey Reynolds
21 Conor Fitzsimmons
Tries: Brown (31)
Goals: Dagger 0/1
Sin bin: Hingano (56) – late tackle
SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 8-0, 14-0, 14-4, 20-4, 26-4; 32-4, 38-4, 44-4, 50-4
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Oldham: Matty Ashurst; Knights: Ata Hingano
Penalty count: 10-3
Half-time: 26-4
Referee: Marcus Griffiths
Attendance: 1,525