ROUGHYEDS — ‘building the Yeds together’ — are delighted to announce the capture of vastly-experienced former Dewsbury Rams, Doncaster, Hunslet and Keighley Cougars hooker Ryan Wright.
With several young players already in the bag who number “hooker or half-back” among their most fancied playing positions, 30-year-old Wright is looking forward to offering a helping hand to pointing the youngsters in the right direction.
“I’ve had a few clubs and been round the block in the last few years, but that’s what Chris and Stuart wanted,”
said Ryan, who made it clear that he felt he still had a lot to offer in his own right and that he had been partially attracted to Oldham by coach Littler’s determination to have a side playing attractive, open rugby on the back of speed at the ruck.
He added:
“There’s plenty of life left in me yet and I’m switched on by the challenge of another move and by the prospect of doing what’s expected of me.
“Stuart’s thoughts about the game dovetail with mine and that’s another reason why I see myself with a role to play within the squad.
“I’m 100 per cent up for this and I can’t wait to get started in pre-season training, although my wife Hannah and I were only married in August and we’ve not had a honeymoon yet because of Covid, so we fly off to Mexico in less than a fortnight.”
He said Chris and Stuart had sold him the club by going through its culture and outlining their plans for the future.
He was impressed by the club’s regard for younger players and especially for those who had been at Super League level and who had been released after Academy.
“For lads of that age, it’s a tough decision anyway if they have to choose between going on into the reserves or pursuing their careers in a different direction.
“Early in my career I went for the reserves option at Wakefield, but with the benefit of hindsight I would have done better to move to a Championship or League 1 club.”
A Leeds lad, he started off at Hunslet Warriors as a boy before going through the scholarship and academy systems at Leeds Rhinos.
From there he had a brief spell at Bradford and then at Wakefield in the reserves before setting out on his adventures in the Championship and League 1.
He lives now in Normanton, between Castleford and Wakefield and works at the Leeds Beckett University as team support on physical education and other sports courses.
