Report: Oldham 36-10 Rochdale Hornets

Rochdale Hornets put in a brave performance but came up short against Oldham, losing 36-10 at Bower Fold in Round 9 of the Betfred Championship.

Oldham and Rochdale went head-to-head for the first time in 2026, with the Law Cup on the line between the two local rivals.

The big news from the Hornets camp in the lead up to kick-off was the absence of influential half-back Jamie Dallimore, who missed out through injury. Jordan Paga came into the side at stand-off, joining Jack Hansen in the halves.

It was Oldham who opened the scoring after just five minutes when Jaron Purcell powered his way over from close range..

The home side had the better of the play in the opening stages of the contest, and a strong kicking game forced Rochdale into a couple of quick repeat sets, before the pressure paid off as Brad Day spun his way through the Hornets defence to plant the ball down, before Riley Dean added the extras to give his side a 12-point advantage.

Rochdale’s first real opportunities of the game came after 25 minutes, when Paga darted out from half-back but strong defence managed to hold him up, before Max Flanagan found his way over the line after an inventive basketball-style pass from Dan Nixon which was deemed to have gone forward.

It was 18-0 right on the stroke of half-time thanks to Cole Geyer, who broke through the line before handing the ball off to Jack Walker who finished the job.

Gary Thornton’s side had work to do in the second half, and their task was made even harder just four minutes into the second period as Walker sliced through the defence to grab his second of the game, with Dean maintaining his perfect record from the tee with a kick from the left-hand side of the posts.

Jake Bibby was the latest name on the Oldham scoresheet with just over 25 minutes to go, the winger on the end of a swift passing move and finishing in the corner.

Moments later, the visitors finally got themselves on the board thanks to TJ Boyd, who slid home in the corner to reduce the deficit to 26 points.

Oldham went close again with just over 10 minutes left, with a low kick to the corner from Dean forcing the Hornets to concede a drop-out as Nixon cleared the danger.

Just a few minutes later, however, the deficit was cut to 20 points as Nixon got his side’s second try of the game in the corner, before Max Flanagan swung in the conversion from the touchline.

Any lingering thoughts of a Hornets comeback were quickly put to rest as Bailey Liu sealed the two points and local bragging rights seven minutes from time, powering his way over the line with Dean converting once more.

This proved to be the final meaningful action of the contest as Alan Kilshaw’s side ran out winners and ensured the law cup would be heading to Bower Fold.

Oldham: Walker, Nisbet, Davies, O’Keefe, Bibby, Smith, Dean, Chapelhow, Wildie, Farnworth, Day, Lannon, Purcell. Bench: Geyer, M.Wood, Milner, Liu.

Tries: Purcell, Day, Walker (2), Bibby, Liu

Goals: Dean (6)

Rochdale Hornets: Flanagan, Boyd, Sa’u, Ashton, Nixon, Paga, Hansen, Dayes, Roby, Barratt, E. Wood, Metcalfe, Whitmore. Bench: Hatton, Reid, Waterworth, McKler.

Tries: Boyd, Nixon

Goals: Flanagan

Post-match reaction

Photo credit: Craig Irvine