Oldham 10 Featherstone Rovers 48: Fev guarantee home semi-final in Championship play-offs

BIG WIN: Oldham 10-48 Featherstone Rovers. Picture: Dec Hayes Photography.

Their comprehensive win over Oldham ensured they would have home advantage when the play-offs begin at the end of September.

Halifax Panthers, who they host at Post Office Road on Sunday, are their closest challengers but despite their dominant win over Swinton Lions, they are unable to catch Rovers in second place.

Featherstone’s top-two finish means they won’t compete in the first round of the play-offs and are set to face the highest-ranked team that emerges from the opening set of games.

Rovers led 26-10 at half time against Oldham and scored 22 unanswered points in the second half to ensure a 17th victory from 18 league games.

“It was an interesting game, I thought we started really well,” reflected head coach James Webster.

“Oldham have been having a right go for the last couple of months.

“They came at us, disrupted us and we probably struggled with that for a period of time in the first half.

“We scored 48 points, so I am happy with that. We got through another good game and we are one game closer to our goal.

He continued: “Oldham were good, they scored some cute tries. They did break us a couple of times on their right edge.

“It has been hard for them backing up from playing Toulouse and then into playing us, it has been a tough year for them. It is a tough division.”

The visitors were 10-0 ahead after eight minutes as Dean Parata’s opener was swiftly followed by a close-range try from Brett Ferres.

Three minutes later Kris Welham added a third try after a break from Gareth Gale and on the 15-minute mark Craig Kopczak crashed over for a fourth Rovers try.

Joe Hartley hit back for Oldham but in the final stages of the first half Kopczak went over from short range for his second try. Rovers had been reduced to 12 men just prior to Kopczak’s try after Dane Chisholm was sin-binned.

Oldham did manage to make their man advantage count when Danny Bridge dotted down on the stroke of half time.

Alex Walker increased Featherstone’s lead soon after the second-half restart before Parata and Ferres both added their second scores of the afternoon. Walker rounded off the win when he completed his brace three minutes from time.