THE Oldham Rugby League Players Association, better known to most fans as the “Ex-Players” have confirmed that they will have a presence at every Roughyeds home game this season.
The plan is to involve different players each time and to integrate them into a relationship with fans by introducing them to the crowd at half-time.
In the hospitality suite, Roger Halstead, who has reported on the careers of most of these players in his capacity as rugby league writer for the former Oldham Evening Chronicle for more than 40 years, will conduct a questions-and-answers session with one of them.
In there last week were Shane Tupaea and Leo Casey – and what a pleasure it was to see them – and more frequent visitors like Joe Warburton (secretary), John Watkins, Ray Hicks and Tony Finan.
Roger’s Q and A was with Shane Tupaea, while Leo picked out Jordan Andrade as the Roughyeds’ best player on the day.
Full-back Owen Restall, who scored our only try, won the Champagne Moment prize.
For the record, prop-forward Leo played 149 games for his hometown club in two separate spells - the first in Watersheddings days, the second for the ’new’ club – and, in between, was sold to Featherstone for £100,000. He also won international honours with Ireland.
Shane, remembered for his all-action style and his love of tackling, played for three seasons at Watersheddings in the early 90s. He played 70 times, mainly under Peter Tunks, but his real claim to fame was his fantastic success as coach of an “A” team that went through a full season unbeaten.
They won every game bar one – and that was a draw !
Said Shane, typically bashful:
“I had it easy, really, because I had such good players. Among them were young lads on the way up like Barrie McDermott and Dave Bradbury. But there were a lot of other good ‘uns too.
“I just gave them their heads and told them all to go out and enjoy themselves.”
Once a rugby league man, always a rugby league man. As soon as pre-game formalities were concluded in hospitality, all the former players couldn’t get outside quickly enough to watch Higginshaw under-9s and Saddleworth Rangers under-9s enjoying themselves in a curtain-raiser.
Roger remembered the immortal words of that legendary club secretary Bert Summerscales, who once said: “Its a sport that gets you . . . and once it gets you it has you from the cradle to the grave.”
He couldn’t have said a truer word; Shane and Leo showed that at the Vestacare Stadium last Sunday.
