IT WAS a case of back to the drawing board for Gateshead as Chris Hood’s men were forced to swallow a big dose of reality against a rampant Oldham Roughyeds at the International Stadium yesterday as they crashed to defeat.

An encouraging display last week against Doncaster suggested that Thunder had turned a corner, as despite that defeat there were signs of a new-found competitiveness.

On reflection, that appears to have been a rogue display as, first few minutes aside, the bad habits that have plagued them this season came back to haunt them.

Thunder’s campaign has had a recurrent theme this year with thrashings seeming to be the norm, and yesterday marked a return to business as usual.

Indeed, the cruellest thing they could have done to their long-suffering supporters was to have taken an early lead as it gave them hope.

Thunder crossed over first in the opening minutes through Joe Brown, with Ryan Clarke converting. But their joy was short-lived as the one-way traffic that followed soon decided the outcome by half-time.

Oldham’s Matthew Fogarty, Andy Isherwood, Luke Sutton, John Clough and Mark Brocklehurst all touched down by the interval to leave a hapless Thunder floundering.

The Roughyeds’ onslaught continued after the break as Clough added his second try. Brocklehurst crossed twice to complete a hat-trick and Carl Forber, who also kicked 12 points, added a brace of his own.

With the game effectively decided, Oldham took their foot off the gas and allowed Thunder a brace of consolation scores.

Gateshead’s Clarke and Johnny Shields crossed the whitewash in the final phases, with the former adding two more points with the boot, but it was the Lancashire team’s day, leaving rock-bottom Thunder to once again lick their wounds.