Two back for injury hit Oldham

Oldham coach Tony Benson welcomes back Mark Brocklehurst and Paul Smith for their Northern Rail Cup tie against Keighley, but is still missing six first teamers through injury.

The Roughyeds were hammered 68-0 against Featherstone in their first group game, but picked up a 36-36 draw against South Wales Scorpions, before last weekend’s 30-28 home defeat against Dewsbury.

They now face a Keighley side who need to win at Cougar Park to ensure their progress to the knockout stages, something which is beyond Benson’s men.

He said: “We’re always confident when we go out. We’ll have a good go at them and see what happens.

“We’ve been getting better and better each week. We’re getting close to a point where everything will click and that will be a quantum leap for us.”

Paul Ballard (knee), Valu Bentley (ankle), Matt Fogarty (ankle), Mark McCully (knee), Lucas Onyango (Achilles) and Luke Stenchion are all still ruled out.