SCOTT NAYLOR has made a double swoop in order to bolster his Oldham Rugby squad for the last few league games of the season, followed by the all-important play-offs.
Determined to give himself the best possible chance of succeeding where he failed at the final hurdle last year, Naylor has tied up influential half-back Steve Roper until the end of the season and brought in winger Adam Clay, formerly with Salford, Barrow and North Wales Crusaders.
While Roper was on loan from Rochdale Hornets there was always the threat of losing him to a Hornets recall, so Roughyeds negotiated his release from their derby rivals and turned him into a fully-fledged Oldham player.
“There was a clause in the loan agreement which would have allowed Hornets to claw him back at any time, but he’s our lad now and we can get on with the job without fear of losing him,” said a relieved Naylor.
“It was what ‘Ropes’ (Roper) wanted too, so everybody is happy and I have a settled player, which is always a positive, especially when it concerns a player who operates in a key, pivotal role like half-back.”
Having settled that issue, Naylor then turned the focus on another of his concerns ahead of the business end of the season, an acute shortage of cover for his outside backs.
He turned to 23-year-old Clay, who had been released by North Wales after making a big impact at Barrow in the Championship last season and finishing the year as the club’s leading try scorer with 12.
Naylor knew him from his Salford days and wanted to sign him at the end of last season, but Oldham’s failure to win promotion put a stop on that because Clay preferred to stay in the Championship and accepted an offer from the newly-promoted Crusaders.
Clay said: “Things didn’t work out for me at Crusaders, so when I got a release I was delighted to sign for Oldham on a short-term deal to the end of the season. I know most of the coaching and backroom staff from my time at Salford, and Lewis Palfrey is a very good friend of mine.
“I watched Oldham beaten by Rochdale in last year’s play-off final because Scott (Naylor) was showing an interest in signing me even then, and I know how much everyone at the club is keen to make amends for that defeat this year.”
Clay has a troublesome right ankle which requires a scan, but despite that he made his debut in place of the injured Mo Agoro in a top-of-the-table clash at York, where Roughyeds produced arguably their worst displays of the season losing 54-12.
They are still on track to finish in the top three, however, and are heavily involved in a three-club race with York and Hunslet to finish either first or second and thus enjoy significant advantages in the run through to the play-off final.
