June 2026
The Oldham RL Heritage Trust were saddened to learn of the death of former player Peter Mills. Peter signed for the Roughyeds in March 1961 from Shawside Juniors and was a mainstay of the “A” team forwards in the early 1960s.
A regular attendee at the meetings of the Players Association, Peter will be sadly missed by the Oldham RL community.
The condolences of the Oldham RL Heritage Trust are extended to all of his family and friends.
On Saturday June 27th 2026, over 250 people gathered for the gala dinner at the town-centre venue ‘The Loom’ to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Oldham RLFC. This proved to be a fantastic night as the Oldham Rugby League Community turned out in force to mark this milestone of our club.
The evening got underway with an address from new chairman, Terry Flanagan.
Six new members were inducted into the club’s ‘Hall of Fame’ with Mick Worrall and Neil Roden there on the night to accept the honour in person. Des Foy sent a video message over from Ireland and there were representatives from the families of Alf Wood and Bob Sloman. Joseph Platt was added in the ‘Outstanding Contribution’ category and a message was sent in from his great grandson which included:
“I am delighted that my great grandpa’s contribution to Rugby League is being honoured in this way and that ‘The Cup and Cap’ have now found a home in perpetuity. They have found their rightful home. Thank you to all concerned.
Nick and Jonathan Whipp.
The cup and cap were items of memorabilia donated by the family to the Heritage Trust collection. Also on show on the night were caps and a trophy brought in by the Sloman family.
As well as ‘Flan’ other Hall of Famers in attendance were Mike Elliott and Roger Halstead.
The atmosphere in the room was buzzing as supporters mingled with the many former players (more than 50) in attendance. A popular part of the evening was a section devoted to “Messages from Down Under” when eight stars of yesteryear took time out to send a video with their best wishes and congratulations for the 150th celebration.
There was a discussion panel with former players; Neil Flanagan, Adie Belle and Phil Joy along with current first team coach Alan Kilshaw. The evening was well managed by Michael ‘Braddy’ Bradshaw and the Trusts’ Kevin Fitzpatrick.
Can everyone who is attending the Oldham RLFC Gala dinner at The Loom on Saturday June 27th at 7pm please ensure that they have confirmed their menu choice via the club website or contacted the person who has organised their table. Please note that this has to be done by Saturday June 20th so that numbers can be confirmed with the venue.
Also could the people who have booked a table please supply the names of their guests if they have not already done so.
The Gala dinner is looking to be a great night with many former players in attendance going right back to the 1960s. There are just a few days left to book tickets via the club website.
Six more people are to be inducted into the Oldham RLFC ‘Hall of Fame’ at the gala dinner on June 27th at “The Loom” in Oldham Town Centre.
Five players will be added to the Players ‘Hall of Fame’ and the great administrator Joseph Platt will be added to the ‘Outstanding Contribution’ category. Joe became a committee member in his early twenties in 1885 and by 1887 he was the club treasurer. He was one of the prime movers in the breakaway from the RFU and the setting up of the Northern Union in 1895 and was installed as honorary secretary a position he held until his retirement in 1920. Already in the Roll of Honour at the Rugby Football League, he is regarded as one of the greatest administrators ever to be associated with Rugby League.
Alf Wood (Heritage Number 119) was a fine defensive full back who played 248 games for Oldham in which he kicked 349 goals. He was selected for the 1914 tour to Australia and New Zealand when those qualities were seen in full in the famous ‘Rorke’s Drift Test, when an injury depleted Great Britain team held out against the Kangaroos with Alf providing a resolute last line of defence. He went on to tour again in 1920 aged 36, which makes him the oldest player ever to be selected for the trip.
Bob Sloman (Heritage Number 210) joined Oldham from the Plymouth Albion RU club in 1921 and went on to make 268 appearances scoring 40 tries and four goals. A forceful second-row forward, he was selected to tour ‘Down Under’ in 1924 and 1928 and twice captained the Roughyeds in the Challenge Cup final in the defeat to Swinton in 1926 and the victory over the same club in 1927. He therefore remains the last Oldham skipper to raise the Challenge Cup.
Mick Worrall (Heritage Number 843) came to Oldham from the Crossfields amateur club in Warrington in 1979. A towering second-row forward and useful goal kicker, Mick made his debut at the end of the 79-80 season and would go on to make 173 appearances for Oldham scoring 31 tries and 61 goals . Noted for crunching tackles, he could also cut through the tightest defences as witnessed when he broke the line of the mighty Australians in 1986 to lay on the first Oldham try. He was selected for the 1984 tour.
Des Foy (Heritage Number 869) , a local lad who started his professional career at Widnes, he was soon snapped up by Oldham and became an immediate fans favourite. A devastating runner in the centre position, his 197 appearances for the Roughyeds brought him 96 tries. He was selected for the 1984 tour and won man-of-the-match in the 1988 2nd Division Premiership final against Featherstone at Old Trafford after a fine two try performance.
Neil Roden (Heritage Number 1111) came to Oldham from Wigan in 2000 and was quickly installed into the first team being comfortable in either the scrum-half or stand-off position. He had a spell away from the club in 2005/6 before returning to play until 2013. Neil’s 295 appearances for the Roughyeds are the most of any player in the 21st Century and his 113 tries are the most by any half-back in the club’s history. He was also adept at knocking over drop goals and finished his career with 25 which is second on the all-time list for Oldham.
Tickets for the event cost £45 are available from the link below. Included will be a two course meal and a special 150th anniversary celebration brochure.
https://events.mynethub.com/public/event/69fc560e78137e1b5608d17d/?themeColor=%23E73747
There is to be a gala dinner to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the club at the new Town Centre venue ‘The Loom’ on Saturday June 27th at 7pm.
The Heritage Trust in combination with ‘Rugby Oldham’, the Players Association and Oldham RLFC have got together to lay on what promises to be a spectacular occasion with new inductions to the club’s Hall of Fame along with contributions from many former players on an evening totally dedicated to Rugby League in Oldham.
Included will be a two course meal and a special 150th anniversary celebration brochure.
Tickets cost £45 are available from the link below.
https://events.mynethub.com/public/event/69fc560e78137e1b5608d17d/?themeColor=%23E73747
May 5th 2026
The Oldham Rugby League Heritage Trust were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Chris Phelan (Heritage Number 892). He was a member of the Parramatta Eels 1982 and 1983 Premiership-winning teams. A tough prop or second-row forward he joined Oldham in 1984 along with team-mate Paul Taylor.
Born in Ireland on December 12, 1955, Chris emigrated to Australia in 1967 at age 12 and returned after his brief injury-hit spell with the Roughyeds where he played 11 games in the 1984-85 season. He went back to play in Queensland for Souths Magpies where he won the Brisbane RL Premiership in 1985 coached by Wayne Bennett, playing alongside Mal Meninga and Gary Belcher.
All the Oldham RL community send their sincere condolences to all of Chris’ family and friends.
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 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.
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.
The Oldham RLFC 150th Anniversary Exhibition organised by the Heritage Trust closed at Gallery Oldham on Saturday March 7th.
The previous day there was a closing ‘celebration’ event held at the Performance area at the Gallery which was well attended by member of the Oldham RL Players Association among them Hall-of-Famers, Mike Elliott, Phil Larder and Terry Flanagan and other Rugby League notables including the highly regarded historian Tony Collins and local reporting legend Roger Halstead.
There was also a great turn-out from Oldham RLFC including chairman Bill Quinn, CEO David Bottomley, coach Alan Kilshaw and other members of staff. The event featured a Presentation surrounding the games Oldham have played against Australia and New Zealand and it was good to see Oldham’s four current Australian players, Josh Drinkwater, Cole Geyer, Jaron Purcell and Ewan Moore in attendance.
The exhibition has received very favourable reviews and was well attended during its eight week run at the Gallery.
