ROUGHYEDS reaffirmed their top spot in League One with a 46-10 win over Cornwall, but this was their toughest test so far, writes Kasey Smith.

It looked like Oldham were going to notch up another heavy win when captain Jordan Turner crossed the line after just four minutes, but it was not quite the cricket score many predicted.

So far this season, the likes of Craig Kopczak, Adam Lawton and the Chapelhow twins have ripped defences apart, and whilst they still found joy on Sunday afternoon, Cornwall were effective at reducing their influence on the game.

Lets not pretend – any win by 36 points is a dominant one, but Oldham’s dissatisfaction after that victory underscores the strength of their side this year, and the high standards boss Sean Long demands.

Cian Tyrer, last week’s star of the show, picked up where he left off against Hunslet and added four more tries to the six he scored at the South Leeds Stadium.

He could have had one early on but his centre Jordan Turner, having provided numerous tries for Tyrer last week, opted to run through the gap himself to score.

Oldham could have had another, a few minutes later, when Phoenix Laulu-Togaga’e set Roughyeds away after evading several tacklers, but the final ball – which Mackenzie Turner grounded – was forward.

Cornwall then seized an opportunity, gifted by two Oldham ball-handling errors, when Morgan Punchard delivered a pass over the arms of both Turner and Tyrer, allowing Aaronson to reduce Oldham’s advantage to just two points.

But Roughyeds responded, almost immediately, when Cornwall failed to collect the kick restart on the full – and in the next set of six, they produced a clever shift to the left wing for Tyrer to score his first try.

Then, the crafty Danny Craven feigned a pass to leave two Cornwall defenders bamboozled as he effortlessly strolled past them to make it 16-4.

With Oldham’s completion rate lower than last week, Cornwall had chances with Aaronson nearly doubling his tally, but he was forced into touch.

Cameron Brown nearly found his way through after breaking the defensive line, only to be thwarted by the lightning quick Laulu-Togaga’e, who swiftly dashed back to deny the Aussie from scoring.

Just before half-time Oldham found two more scores, the first of which came from Tyrer who was the beneficiary of a Jordan Turner line-break, after he pounced on a Cornwall loose pass.

Oldham’s fifth – arguably the most eye-catching of the lot – came when Gallagher gave a late offload to PLT, who bolted off from the 20 metre line to score.

But Cornwall did not give up, and two minutes into the second half, they responded.

Roughyeds knocked on deep in their own half when Mackenzie Turner and PLT, both fixated on the high ball, inadvertently collided with each other – the result of which was a try for former Oldham man Tom Ashton.

Tyrer completed yet another hat-trick on 50 minutes when he fought off three Cornwall tacklers to ground the ball over the goal-line.

Then a huge carry from Ted Chapelhow, followed by some slick passing to the right edge, resulted in a try for Mackenzie Turner who grounded in the corner.

Shortly after, Tyrer bagged his fourth, thanks to a great break from Adam Lawton which disrupted the Cornwall defence.

Two back-to-back penalties in Oldham’s favour allowed PLT to get his second, after he weaved through a whole posse of Cornwall tacklers to make it 46-10, minutes before the hooter.

During the 80 minutes, Oldham – who rested Ellis, Wardle and Wildie – could, and perhaps should, have scored more; a worrying prospect for their next opponents, Midlands Hurricanes.

Oldham: goals, Craven 2/4, Tyrer 3/5; tries, J.Turner, Tyrer x4, Craven, Laulu-Togaga’e x2, M.Turner

Cornwall: goals, Brown 1/2; tries, Aaronson, Ashton

OLDHAM: Laulu-Togaga’e; C.Tyrer, J.Turner, Morgan, M.Turner; Craven, Astley; Kopczak, Aldridge, Farnworth, Gallagher, Lawton, J.Chapelhow. Subs: Paga, T.Chapelhow, Josh Johnson, Taylor (all used). 18th Man: Hirst.

Referee: Tara Jones; HT: 26-4; Pens: 9-8; Att: 1,136