THE four young players we have signed from Wigan Warriors on loan are all included in the 21-man squad named by head coach Stu Littler for Sunday’s attractive Betfred League One clash with North Wales Crusaders at the Vestacare Stadium.
Centre Alex Sutton, half-back Logan Astley and forwards Jack Bibby and Toby Brannan are all called up to the squad together with Wakefield Trinity’s young outside half Robbie Butterworth.
The five to drop out from last week are injured centre Calvin Wellington (hamstring), forwards David Mills and Dom Newton, hooker or half-back Sean Slater and winger Ben Holcroft, who was 18th man last week when we won 38-0 at West Wales Raiders.
There will have to be at least three changes in the 17 because centre Wellington and replacement hooker Johnny Openshaw (head knock) are ruled out by injury and forward Dom Newton, a sub in Wales, is not in the 21.
Squad: Astley, Bibby, Brannan, Butterworth, Cameron, Carr, Cooke, Copland, Coventry, Ferry, Field, Hartley, Hewitt, Morgan, Muranka, Restall, Spencer, Sutton, Thornton, Whittel, Yarrow.
Bibby and Astley have played previously for Roughyeds, Bibby against London Broncos and Halifax in the Championship year of 2021 and stand-off Astley earlier this year.
Said Bibby:
“I really enjoyed my time at Oldham last year and I’m looking forward to another spell. I trained with Roughyeds this week and the other lads made me feel very welcome. I know a lot of them anyway.”
A product of Shevington Sharks, the Wigan community club that produced Saints’ man of the moment Jack Welsby, Bibby has come through the Warriors system, playing for them at scholarship, academy and now reserves levels.
He and his fellow prop Toby Brannan are in the Wigan train-on squad, while young backs Astley and Sutton have been presented with first-team squad numbers and Astley has made his Super League debut against Huddersfield Giants.
There isn’t a curtain-raiser this week because of school holidays, so the turnstiles open at 2pm — not 1pm as stated previously.
Admission prices are as follows:
Adults, £15 standing, £16 sitting; concessions, £13 standing, £14 sitting; students, £4 standing, £5 sitting; under-16s, FREE (standing), £2 sitting.
