It will be a special day at the Vestacare Stadium on Sunday for lots of local youngsters from the Saddleworth Rangers and Higginshaw community clubs.
The under-9s of Rangers and Higgy will play a curtain-raiser, starting at 1pm, to the Oldham versus Keighley game and, for the Higgy lads especially that will be like a cup final or a Wembley, given that many of their boys have not been playing long and are still finding their feet in the sport.
They’ve recently moved up from under-8s to under-9s and that’s been another challenge because they’ve had to get used to different regulations.
“They’ve certainly had to up their tackling, but there have been other things too,”
said Higgy’s well-known club official John Mellor.
“It’s been challenging for them, but they’ve come through with flying colours.”
In Chris Tomlin and Craig Hyland they have a couple of excellent coaches, however, and that’s been a big help to these players of the future.
Both sets of lads from the two clubs will join forces as flag bearers, a labour of love in which they will be assisted by Higgy under-8s, coached by Stan Lambert.
And that’s not all. At half-time all three squads will do a lap of honour to receive the acknowledgement of the crowd.
Added John:
“It will be a big day for them, that’s for sure. Our under-9s have only played two games together, but they are a great bunch.
“Some of them hadn’t even heard of rugby league this time last year, but they’ve come on in leaps and bounds and we are very proud of them.
“One of them knows the game inside out — he’s a fourth-generation Jewitt!
“Rangers, of course, are quite strong at youth level, but I’m sure the philosophy is similar at both clubs – it’s good just to see youngsters not only playing our great game, but really enjoying it. That’s the main thing; it’s got to be about enjoyment.”
Higgy, who play on a super, flat and manicured pitch near Oldham Edge, currently have an open-age team in division 4 of the North-West Men’s League, plus under-8s and under-9s, and they are planning to build an under-7s squad.
