Oldham v Warrington preview
Challenge Cup giant-killers Oldham have suffered a new injury blow only three days before Saturday’s sixth-round clash with Super League leaders Warrington Wolves at Bower Fold.
SCOTT Naylor’s Championship part-timers are looking forward to the game of their lives on the Bower Fold pitch that has become their fortress in recent weeks.
Their reward for stunning the rugby league world by winning at Hull KR is a home tie on Saturday (3pm) in the last 16 of the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup against Super League leaders Warrington Wolves, three times finalists in the last seven years.
At face value, the Wolves should walk it, but the boys who were playing League One development clubs in the South of England this time last year take heart from their headline-hitting win in Hull and the subsequent sixth-round draw in which they came out of the hat first.
Home advantage is important to them — and no amount of persuasion or of £-signs would have tempted Roughyeds to switch the tie to the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
“Warrington asked if we wanted to go over there, in the belief that a tie at the Halliwell Jones would attract a bigger crowd and make more money for both clubs,” revealed Oldham chairman Chris Hamilton.
Head of coaching and rugby Tony Smith has named his 19-man squad ahead of Saturday’s Cup tie including a number making the step up – the likes of Morgan Smith, Dan Murray and Joe Ryan – and Gene Ormsby returning from his loan spell at the Giants.
Oldham squad : TBC
Warrington squad: 9 Daryl Clark; 32 Jordan Cox; 11 Ben Currie; 3 Rhys Evans; 1 Kurt Gidley; 8 Chris Hill; 29 Benjamin Jullien; 18 George King; 2 Tom Lineham; 34 Daniel Murray; 22 Gene Ormsby; 20 Kevin Penny; 25 Joe Philbin; 6 Stefan Ratchford; 35 Joe Ryan; 10 Ashton Sims; 31 Morgan Smith; 14 Joe Westerman; 27 Sam Wilde
