North Manchester entertained Oldham last Saturday in a hard-fought league game at the Tudor Lodge. North were without player-coach Andy Donley and stand-off John Eady but were looking to maintain their position at the top of the league against the bottom of the table opposition in front of a sizable crowd.

Oldham started the game very well and used there excellent line-out and rolling maul tactic to put North under pressure. North took some time to settle down and both defences were definitely on top forcing the opening 20 minutes to remain scoreless.

North full-back Matt Saxon put in an excellent 15 minute spell to sway the game North’s way. Saxon collected a long clearance from Oldham deep inside his own half and sprinted around advancing defenders. Saxon continued before being tackled on the half-way. Quick ball allowed Matthew Wallace to feed Scott Danby who floated a wonderful pass out to try-machine Steve Donoghue to race in untouched for his fifteen try in 10 games. Scott Danby added an easy conversion to make it 7-0.

Another huge Oldham clearance allowed North to increase their lead just before half-time. Once again Saxon showcased his speed and sidestepping abilities to glide past defenders before releasing Kev Green on the halfway line. Green powered his way through 3 tackles before passing to support runner Chris Taylor who ran in under the posts for an easy try. Danby added the conversion to leave the half-time score 14-0.

North increased their lead early in the second half with another try from winger Steve Donoghue. Good work by Dave Vickers and Chris Hyland allowed Donoghue to receive the ball just inside his own half. The youngster powered through two tackles to leave himself one-on-one with the Oldham full-back, and an excellent sidestep allowed him to beat the tackler and dive in the corner for a try. A difficult conversion was missed but North led 19-0.

North’s scrum was becoming increasingly dominant and the front row of Tony Donley, Luke Corrigan, and Dave McCarrick were too strong for their counterparts. North pressure forced a scrum on the Oldham 5 metre line and a controlled powerful scrum allowed No. 8 Chris Taylor to guide the ball towards the try-line before he picked it up and dived over for the score. Scott Danby converted to give North a commanding 26-0 lead.

North scored another try on the 60 minute mark. Sam Donley was making his first appearance for the first team but showed his huge potential with an excellent try. Winger Aaron Duoba broke into the Oldham half before being tackled 15 metres from the try line. The ball was quickly re-cycled through good work by flankers Ian Thompson and Lee Roberts, and Matthew Wallace fired a pass out to Scott Danby. Danby quickly passed to Sam Donley who smashed into 3 tacklers carrying them and the ball over the line for the try. The conversion was missed but North led 31-0.

North could have added further tries only for Danny Nowell and Darren Seddon to be foiled by excellent tackling close to the Oldham line. Oldham’s defence was excellent all game and they dominated the last 10 minutes of the match. North lock Colin Meredith was outstanding during this period and managed to rip the ball from at least three mauls close to the home try-line allowing North to relieve the pressure. North’s defence stood firm and Oldham were unable, and unlucky, not to put any points on the board. North won by 31 points to nil but Oldham will surely climb up the table if they continue to perform like this.

The Middleton Plasterers man of the match award was given to Matt Saxon who was instrumental in most of North’s good work.

The victory was dedicated to the memory of Dave Simpson, a former player and friend of the club who passed away last week.