YOUNG players Callum Green and Ben Holcroft, who haven’t played for several weeks, are back in Matt Diskin’s 21 for Sunday’s important Betfred Championship clash with Dewsbury Rams at Bower Fold.
They replace centre Ben Heaton, who has had a recurrence of quad trouble, and prop Phil Joy, who suffered a fractured elbow and ligament damage at Newcastle last Sunday.
Danny Bridge will work off a one-match ban, while Dave Hewitt (ribs) and Jack Spencer (back) are still on the injured list, though responding well to treatment.
Squad: D Abram, J Abram, Barran, Bent, Brierley, Charnock, Dupree, Fletcher, Green, Gregory, Hartley, Holcroft, Hutchings, Ince, Kirk, Langtree, Nelmes, Owen, Pick, Reilly, Roberts.
Green, a full-back or half-back, has played in six of the club’s 12 games in cup and league this year, four of them in the starting line-up at full-back.
His last appearance was at Featherstone on May 17, after which he lost his spot and has not been called on for the last four games against York, Widnes, Sheffield and Newcastle.
Holcroft played in four of the first seven games, but has been in the background since the home defeat by Whitehaven on May 8.
The return of the two youngsters, especially that of Green, gives coach Diskin options outside the pack where he will be looking for a replacement for injured centre Heaton.
Interestingly, he has again got three hookers in his 21, as he had at Newcastle when he started with Declan Gregory, had Jamie Abram on the bench and left out club captain Gareth Owen.
Owen keeps his place in the 21, as does young tearaway prop Tyler Dupree, who was also left out last week.
Dewsbury, like Roughyeds, have had a poor run of results of late but they have followed up their recent captures of Dom Speakman and Dan Hawksworth with the on-loan signing of prop Jimmy Beckett, the young Featherstone prop who was on loan at Oldham in 2019 when his late try gave Roughyeds victory over Newcastle Thunder in the Promotion Final.
They signed Hawksworth to bolster their front-row, but he’s got a one-match ban so Beckett will replace him.
Squads
Match Officials
- Referee: M. Rossleigh
- Touch Judges: M. Smaill, T. Jones