NEW-SIGNING Nathan Roebuck said he felt proud after scoring a try on debut for his hometown club as Oldham cruised to a resounding 60-6 victory over Newcastle on Sunday, writes Kasey Smith.

The 24-year-old towering centre has been training with the club since the start of pre-season, but agreed a deal until the end of the season late last week after rediscovering his hunger for the sport following a knee injury.

With Roughyeds short in the centre positions, Roebuck was thrown in at the deep end and produced a strong performance, scoring a try just before half-time after being played in from a scrum.

“It felt great to be back out there,” said Roebuck who has not played a professional game in over a year.

“I’ve been out for a while, but being back and playing for my hometown – I felt really proud.

“It was a good win and even in the moments when we were under pressure, the lads stuck together to keep them out.”

Roebuck started out with Saddleworth Rangers before joining the set up at Warrington Wolves.

He scored a try in his Super League debut for the Wire in a 20-18 loss to Salford in 2020.

Nathan, who can also operate on the wing, went on to sign for Keighley Cougars where he scored 15 tries in 17 appearances across the 2022 and 2023 seasons, before leaving to pursue opportunities outside the sport.

Commenting on the signing, Roughyeds boss Sean Long said: “Nathan has been training with us all season but has had other commitments – he’s been freed up a little bit now so he is able to train with us fully.

“We’re a bit short in the outside back areas – he’s a local lad, and I want to see him so it’s exciting times.”

Roughyeds are searching for their fifth straight away victory over Workington Town this weekend, as they look to reaffirm their position at the top of League One.

Sunday’s game, which kicks off at 3pm, is the last in a run of five straight away games due to pitch maintenance work at Boundary Park.

Boss Sean Long will be hoping for more of the same form which saw Oldham back to their best in the 60-6 win over Newcastle last weekend, ahead of a crucial run of three back-to-back home games.

“We’ve got to bank that Newcastle result in our heads,” said Long. “Sometimes you learn from these games when you’ve done well, so we will revisit it.

“We’ve spoken a lot, in the last few weeks, of where we need to get to going into this run of games.

“We’re playing against some difficult opposition in the next few weeks and it will get harder going into the back end of the season – it won’t always be easy.”

Workington, who are on a run of four straight defeats, dropped out of the play-off spots last weekend after a 34-32 defeat to North Wales Crusaders.

Tommy Brierley, currently on loan at Workington and formerly of Roughyeds, scored a try in the defeat to Crusaders and could feature against his former club this weekend.

Roughyeds could also have bodies back, with boss Sean Long hinting at several players close to a return last week.

“Pat Moran has been like a new signing for us after he came back and next week Joe Wardle will have a similar impact,” said Long.