HUNSLET 16 OLDHAM 60
KASEY SMITH, South Leeds Stadium, Sunday

OLDHAM overcame plucky opposition with a blistering second-half showing to earn a 15th straight league win.

They were tested by a Hunslet side who wanted to play, with only six points separating the sides at the break.

In their previous meeting in the 1895 Cup, the Yorkshire outfit lost but scored 24 points, with Oldham coach Alan Kilshaw rightly warning of the threats they posed ahead of this one.

Those words quickly rang true as Hunslet worked their way to within metres of the Roughyeds’ line, only for a play-the-ball error to undo their promising build-up.

While their attack was sharp, discipline proved to be their downfall. Three penalties conceded in the opening ten minutes handed Oldham the field position they needed.

And when the ball was shifted wide, Ben Davies found winger Tom Nisbet in support. He made amends for his earlier knock-on by diving over wide out, Morgan Smith notching the first of ten kicks from ten attempts.

Another Hunslet high kick was directed towards Nisbet, but there would be no repeat of his earlier mistake. He claimed it cleanly before setting off on a blistering run, leaving the chasing defenders in his wake as he surged beyond halfway.

The ball was then worked through the hands of Smith and Jack Walker, who delicately chipped ahead for Luke Forber. He gathered the bouncing ball and grounded it beneath the posts to finish a superb length-of-the-field effort.

Caught napping again, Hunslet watched Luke Forber race from a 20-metre restart to their line before Mo Agoro and Jimmy Watson’s chase forced a knock-on to prevent a certain try.

Maintaining their composure, Oldham calmly worked through their sets to keep the scoreboard ticking over. A swift shift to the left found Luke Forber, who produced a trademark, acrobatic finish.

Hunslet had their moments, mostly coming on the back of Oldham errors. When a six-again was awarded deep in the visitors’ territory, the home side pulled one back, Agoro finishing after expertly evading Ben O’Keefe. Dan Abram added the goal.

Oldham seemed to lose their composure. With another score seemingly on, Walker’s kick was claimed by Charlie Graham, and then Hunslet capitalised before the break as Kevin Larroyer gathered a low kick by Abram, who tagged on the two.

But Kilshaw’s charges quickly regained control in the second half as pressure on Hunslet’s line forced two risky offloads, allowing Smith to pounce for the simplest of scores between the posts.

Hunslet’s comeback hopes were extinguished as Tom Forber broke from dummy-half before sending Josh Drinkwater over.

Meaning business, Oldham grabbed another try, Nisbet strolling over for his second, and Matty Wildie, Bayley Liu and Smith also scored.

Mackenzie Turner grabbed a consolation for Hunslet before Owen Farnworth wrapped things up with a crash-over effort.

GAMESTAR: Oldham hooker Matty Wildie was a class act from dummy-half, as was his replacement Tom Forber, but the veteran edged it.

GAMEBREAKER: Josh Drinkwater’s try, which helped make it 30-12, seemed to knock the stuffing out of Hunslet, who had worked hard to get back into the game.

MATCHFACTS

HUNSLET
18 Jimmy Watson
5 Mo Agoro
27 Charlie Graham
3 Myles Harrop
21 Mackenzie Turner
6 Lee Gaskell
7 Dan Abram
35 Jordan Baldwinson
37 Aiden Doolan
26 Ethan O’Hanlon
11 Harrison Gilmore
12 Darcy Simpson
13 Eddie Battye
Subs (all used)
8 Harvey Hallas
14 Cam Berry
17 Kevin Larroyer
28 Anthony Walker

Tries: Agoro (34), Larroyer (38), Turner (76)
Goals: Abram 2/3

OLDHAM
1 Jack Walker
21 Tom Nisbet
4 Ben Davies
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
27 Bayley Liu
13 Adam Milner
Subs (all used)
7 Tom Forber
10 Owen Farnworth
12 Ryan Lannon
16 Ewan Moore

Tries: Nisbet (11, 51), L Forber (18, 28), Smith (43, 73), Drinkwater (45), Wilide (66), Liu (71), Farnworth (79)
Goals: Smith 10/10

SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 0-12, 0-18, 6-18, 12-18; 12-24, 12-30, 12-36, 12-42, 12-48, 12-54, 16-54, 16-60

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Hunslet: Charlie Graham; Oldham: Matty Wildie

Penalty count: 6-7
Half-time: 12-18
Referee: Milo McKelvey
Attendance: 858