ROUGHYEDS boss Sean Long was pleased with his side’s fast start in the 60-6 win over Newcastle on Sunday, writes Kasey Smith.

Oldham took the lead against Thunder inside the opening five minutes and ran in six tries in the first half at the Gateshead International Stadium.

Oldham have only managed to score eight points during the first half in their last two fixtures, so Long was thrilled with the improvement, especially considering the number of key players still sidelined with injuries.

“We stripped it right back,” explained the Roughyeds boss. “I asked the boys for a reaction, and we definitely got that.

“A few lads came in at the last minute and we chopped and changed the team and despite still missing our experienced lads – Joe Wardle and Jordan Turner, as well as a few others – today was a step in the right direction.

“We started the game with intent, in previous weeks we have been dipping our toe in the water, but today I felt we started fast.

“The lads who stepped in today did a great job, I thought they all tipped in and had a right dig today and that’s what I’ve been asking for, for the last few weeks.

“We put them in the washing machine straight away, and we got our rewards.”

Long was delighted to see the impact Pat Moran made, who made his first appearance in an Oldham shirt since the 28-12 defeat to Swinton back in February, as well as new-man Nathan Roebuck.

“Pat holds that middle third really well and sometimes the work he does goes unnoticed.

“He got his rewards today with short passes and us playing through them.

“I thought Nathan was really good, that try he scored helped settle him down but I thought his defence was great and I couldn’t fault him.”