OLDHAM have followed up the coup of capturing the services of long-serving Danny Langtree for two more years by announcing the arrival of one of the sport’s top, young prospects in former Leeds Rhinos young gun Tyler Dupree.
Said to be a “great prospect”, 20-year-old Dupree has chosen to sign for Roughyeds on a one-year deal, much to the disappointment of several other Championship clubs who were well aware of the young prop’s potential.
“I knew immediately that Oldham was the club for me when I met Matt Diskin for a coffee.”
“Everything he said fitted in with my thoughts on the game and my hopes and aspirations for the future,” said Tyler in an exclusive interview with the Roughyeds website.
“I’m really looking forward to getting started at Oldham and to progressing my game under Matt, who was a legend at Leeds in his playing days.”
As a boy, Tyler had ambitions to make the big-time in soccer as a goalkeeper, but on one memorable occasion he was asked to play out of goal and his man-to-man marking was so rough that he was advised to turn to rugby. He did. Football’s loss was rugby league’s gain.
Born and brought up in Halifax, he joined the Siddall club; was pitched into the front-row; and the rest is history.
From Siddall, he passed through the Halifax Elite Rugby Academy — a stepping stone into the pro game for lots of talented lads — and ended up, aged 16, on scholarship at Salford Red Devils.
Tyler takes up the story.
“While at Salford, I had a couple of games at Halifax on loan. Leeds Rhinos must have had a scout there because they moved in and I went to Leeds as a third-year Academy lad. We reached the Academy Grand Final and I then signed first-team with the Rhinos and went out on loan to first Featherstone, then York, then Batley.
“I was to be out of contract this year and I think it was Brendan Sheridan who put me on to Matt, who made an immediate impression and convinced me that my best move was to sign for Oldham.”
Tyler has played for Yorkshire Academy against the touring Australian Schoolboys and has also been involved with the England Performance Unit.
A delighted Diskin said of Dupree:
“He’s a very talented young prop who has been in the first-team squad at Leeds and has come through the Rhinos systems. He still has a bit of maturing to do as a front-row forward, but what a talent!
“With ability like that, he has the rugby world at his feet. We’ve had to face a lot of competition to get him and that says a lot about him and a lot about his potential. I’ve absolutely no doubt that if he works hard and applies himself at Oldham he will have every chance of returning to Super League in the not-too-distant future.”
