A new club record was established in the victory over Hunslet in the 1895 cup on Sunday April 19th.
Eleven different try scorers in the same match occurred for the first time in the history of the club. There has been ten different try scorers on six occasions (all of them this century) but this was the first time for eleven. Matty Ashurst, Jaron Purcell, Cole Geyer, Jake Bibby, Jack Walker, Bayley Liu, Riley Dean, Ben Davies, Owen Farnworth, Luke Thomas and Ryan Lannon all crossing the whitewash with Bibby ending the sequence when scoring his second which was the final try in the 78th minute of the match.
Riley Dean – 12 conversions from 12 attempts against Hunslet at Bower Fold. Photo by Dave Murgatroyd.
Riley Dean also joined an elite list of players who have kicked twelve goals or more in a single match for the club with his impressive 100%, ’12-from-12′ effort yesterday. The others who have achieved this are: Bernard Ganley (4 times), Abe Johnson, Martyn Ridyard, Andy Ballard, Steve Roper, Adam Brook and Kieran Dixon.
To mark the 150th anniversary of Oldham Rugby League Club, world renowned sports illustrator Matthew J Wood has created three stunning illustrations of Watersheddings, capturing the spirit and history of the iconic ground.
One of these special pieces was presented to Bill Quinn during the Good Friday match against Rochdale, a moment that celebrated both heritage and community. Fans can now purchase prints of all three artworks. Every sale supports the club.
Fans can explore and order from the collection by visiting Matthew’s website at
On a history making day at Bower Fold Australian forward, Jaron Purcell was awarded the Heritage Trust Trophy after a fine all-round performance in the Law Cup match against Rochdale.
Jaron Purcell receives the Heritage Trust Trophy from Alfie Riley and Maddie Kov, the grand-children of trustee Steve Brown. ( Photo by Dave Murgatroyd).
It was the first time that the match, which is traditionally a pre-season fixture, has been linked to a league game. This coming after the match was postponed on the eve of the current season.
It is also the first time the award has gone to a player from ‘down under’. Regardless of the score (36 – 10) this was a tough match against a determined Rochdale outfit. Two-try Jack Walker and stand in marksman Riley Dean, who kicked six goals from six attempts, were also in the running but Purcell who played most of the match in the thick of the action just edged it with a tremendous stint on attack and defence and chipped in with the opening try of the match.
