Just five minutes in, Richard Pachniuk showed all of the guile that made him such a favourite at Hornets when he burrowed in from 18 inches. Agar converted. And it was Agar who stretched Hornets lead on the half hour, sliding through a parting defence to score. Almost on half time he added to his total. A neat chip to the posts on the last tackle was lost in the air by Oldham fullback Mark Sibson, the ball bounced at the foot of the post, Sibson over-ran it and Agar dived in to touch down. His conversion gave Hornets a half time total of 16, Oldham's only response a Braddish penalty.

Oldham knew they had to score first to get back into the game and they failed spectacularly as Matt Long crashed in unstoppably from a short Pachniuk pass with less than a minute on the clock. At 22-2 Hornets supporters felt suitably confident to chant 'Easy, easy' - and in reality it was.

Oldham scrum half Brennan gave Oldham some hope after 50 minutes, rushing through a static Hornets defence to score, but Marlon Billy restored Hornets' sizdable lead less than five minutes later, crashing through his opposite number Gavin Dodd - who he terrorised all afternoon - to notch another trademark touchdown.

Danny Sculthorpe was introduced back into the fray for what appears to be his big farewell to Hornets and celebrated with a quite audacious drop goal that he celebrated with real relish. Hornets fans sang 'There's only one decent Sculthorpe' and their Oldham counterparts headed for the exits. Pity, they missed Oldham's dying seconds consolation try by Henare that gave their team a flattering 14 points.

To a certain extent, Oldham were the architects of their own downfall. Three times they broke the Hornets line - something Martin Hall will have undoubtedly taken note of - and ech time the ball carrier took the wrong option with men in support (twice it was Braddish, who'll be reminded by Mike Ford that going for glory isn't always in the team's best interests). Oldham also showed scant respect for possession, forcing passes, coughing carries and generally tossing away precious field position time after time.

Hornets, on the other hand, were pleasingly light on errors. Taken forward by Pachniuk, Agar and the irrepressible Sculthorpe, they drove Oldham backwards for most of the game. Once again, O'Meara and Calland look like the centre pairing to give other NFP threequarter lines nightmares this season. Mentions must also go to Sean Cooper who looks to have gained a yard of pace in the close season and Wes Rogers who has made the step up to prop with aplomb - running hard and tackling like a man possessed.

Martin Hall has seen the benefits of greater interchange options come to fruition. To have the quality of Damian Ball, Joe Berry, James Bunyan and Matty Long on standby (plus Andy Ireland and Dave Stephenson to slot back in), it looks like being an exciting season ahead.

In the end it was a sad and proud day for Hornets. Sad that we probably won't see Danny Sculthorpe blockbusting defences and conjuring up passes from nothing in a Hornets jersey again. Proud that he carries the Hornets flag into Super League and undoubtedly onto the international stage - he'll forever be 'one of ours'.

And there's a rare pride in seeing a Hornets Captain lifting a piece of silverware.

It's going to be one hell of a season. Buckle up and hang on!