Three cheers for an in-form Thunder after victory over Oxford
NEWCASTLE Thunder made it three Kingstone Press League One wins on the bounce as they routed Oxford RLFC 52-0.
Played in searing heat, Thunder managed to keep their composure and cool to put in an excellent display which moved them back into the qualification places for the Super Eight phase of the league.
The club are riding an upturn in form since former captain Jason Payne assumed duties as interim head coach a month ago and again turned in a potent attacking display combined with tenacious defence.
It did, however, take almost a quarter of the game to pass before the deadlock was broken.
The conditions saw errors creep into the efforts of both sides before Thunder sharpened their attacking steel .
They bagged a quick-fire brace of converted tries courtesy of last week’s hat-trick hero against Keighley Lewis Young .
The game then settled down before Thunder managed to work up a head of steam again with a second brace of tries added before the halftime break thanks to Derrell Olpherts and Benn Hardcastle.
When a kickable penalty was awarded on the cusp of half-time, Hardcastle opted to take the two points.
The pattern was repeated for much of the second half, the visitors able to control the tempo effectively and adding to their advantage within five minutes of the restart, this time thanks to Cook Island international Aaron Teroi.
Former Castleford star Stephen Snitch scored his first try in Thunder colours, Hardcastle’s goal taking the score-line to 38-0 before one of his trademark show-and-go efforts took the hosts further ahead on the hour.
Further gloss was then added by the impressive visitors in the shape of a hat-trick try for Young.