Hornets in France trip

ROCHDALE head to France for the second time this season, taking on Toulouse Olympique this evening.

The French side have all but secured the Championship Shield trophy and enjoyed home and away victories over the Hornets in the regular season.

However, Alan Kilshaw’s side will be wary of finding themselves dragged into the relegation fight with OLDHAM and SWINTON.

They travel without Jono Smith, Miles Greenwood, Lewis Foster and Kevin Penny due to injury, while Jo Taira is unavailable because of visa issues.

Rob Massam will also miss the trip with a knee knock, but handed the club a boost this week by signing on for 2018.

Stuart Littler’s Lions welcome already-relegated Bradford to Heywood Road, looking for a repeat of the 16-6 victory at Odsal that marked the ex-Salford Red Devil’s first game in charge.

“We will need everyone to be switched on for the full 80 minutes to earn a win,” said Littler. “It’s only a few weeks since we won over at Odsal for the first time in many years, and a repeat performance in which we minimised errors is what we’ll need again.”

Oldham face another tough task with a trip to second-placed Batley Bulldogs.

The Roughyeds are now without a win since the victory against Toulouse on July 2, and have to start picking up points soon to avoid the drop.