OLDHAM RUGBY League Club’s pre-season programme of warm-up games will begin with a tough challenge at Barrow on Sunday, February 2 (kick-off 2pm).
Swinton Lions will be at Whitebank a week later on Sunday, February 9 (3pm) and club officials are hoping to arrange a third practice match on one of the two blank weekends before the start of the Kingstone Press Championship One campaign at South Wales Scorpions on Sunday, March 2.
Coach Scott Naylor has specifically targeted Championship clubs for his warm-up opposition in order to give his young squad challenges that will test them physically and mentally at a higher level than they would normally expect to meet in Championship One.
“We’ve had a struggle to arrange these friendlies because Championship One starts after the other divisions and that in itself caused problems,” said the Roughyeds boss.
“However, we were given the opportunity to play Swinton and Barrow and those games should be ideal preparation for us as we look ahead to March 2 and our long trip to South Wales on the opening day of the Championship One campaign.
“You don’t go to Barrow in early February expecting anything less than a tough contest in a tough environment against a big side.
“We’ll have to be switched on mentally and it will be an ideal opportunity for me to look at our new players for the first time in competitive action.”
Barrow finished the 2013 Championship season just above the relegated bottom two and with 33 points, one fewer than Swinton.
According to Naylor, new signings Brett Robinson, Jake Shoel, Danny Whitmore, Ben Wood and Paddy Mooney have quickly become acquainted with the Roughyeds way of going about things during the arduous sessions of pre-season training which began on a three-times-a-week basis in mid-November.
The squad was even called in for a tough work-out on the Saturday between Christmas and New Year.
On the previous Saturday they swapped the training pitch for the boxing ring with a session of sparring and other disciplines at Eric Noi’s Boxing and Personal Development Centre on Greaves Street.
“Our thanks go to Eric and his staff, not only for making fantastic facilities available to us, but running the session for us and challenging the boys both mentally and physically,” said Naylor.
“It did the boys good to have to listen to and respond to a different voice and it allowed ‘Spanner’ (his No 2 Lee Spencer) and me to take a back seat and to look objectively at what was going on and how the players were responding and reacting.
“It was a brilliant session in every respect.”
Roughyeds have confirmed that full-back Richard Lepori will not be re-signing for 2014 because he is heading to Australia on a 12-month visa to play for a country team in Northern Queensland.
“It will be a huge loss,” said Naylor, “but when one door closes another opens. I have absolutely no doubt that we will come up with yet another first-rate full-back to carry on where ‘Lippy’ left off.”
