Preview: Oldham v Gateshead

Kashley Watkins and John Gilman could both return for Oldham while Wayne Kerr, Mick Fogerty and Lucas Onyango face fitness tests during Thursday night’s training session.

Oldham coach Tony Benson said: “We’ve struggled in attack since we had those three weeks off, although our defence is still strong.

“Gateshead are a very serious threat and we’ll be preparing as such. We’ve got to focus on our discipline, keeping some ball and completing some sets.

“We were too undisciplined against Hunslet last week and we’ve got to make improvements there.”

Joe Brown returns for Gateshead but loan signing Nigel Scott is ruled out with a shoulder injury suffered while playing for Yorkshire Students recently.

Thunder director of rugby Chris Hood said: “Last week we were without a game so we had a basic survival training session with the Royal Marines.

“It was 24 hours away camping in forests, and it was a real eye opener that provided some fantastic experiences for the lads. We were already a tight knit group but this has enabled us to tighten that bond even further.”