STAND by for changes in Oldham RLFC’s squad for Sunday’s third-round Coral Challenge Cup tie against Haydock at the Vestacare Stadium (3pm kick-off).
Coach Scott Naylor has confirmed he will be seeking “fresh legs” as Roughyeds set out on the Wembley trail in the hope of reaching the later stages and making serious money.
Danny Grimshaw didn’t train on Tuesday night because of a groin problem.
Anthony Bowman (heel) and Ritchie Hawkyard (groin) were said to be struggling.
All three will be checked out at training later, but in any event Naylor will be rotating his squad to give others a game
He said:
“We’ll be fielding a strong squad with fresh legs. A few lads will be out to impress and to show me why they think they shouldn’t have lost their spots in the first place.
“I’ve got a lot of depth in the squad which is one of the best we’ve had for a while.”
The tie is a repeat of the 2017 fourth-round clash at Bower Fold, Stalybridge which Roughyeds won 40-12 after going 8-0 down inside the first ten minutes.
“We started slowly and we won’t be doing that again. I’m expecting we’ll play very well,”
added the Oldham boss.
Roughyeds have cut admission prices from £14 to £10 for adults and from £12 to £8 for concessions in a bid to get fans through the turnstiles.
They are looking to make significant money out of the Coral Challenge Cup and the new 1895 Cup, which also ends up at Wembley.
Super League clubs are not involved in the new knock-out competition, the first-round draw for which will be made at the same time as the draw for the fourth round Coral Challenge Cup next Tuesday.
St Anne’s under-11s and their equivalents from Rylands (Warrington) will play a curtain-raiser and then combine to carry out and display a giant promotional banner to be laid on the pitch.
