IT’S too early in the week to confirm the availability of our young loan signings, but if our quartet from Wigan Warriors are with us for the visit of London Skolars to the Vestacare Stadium on Sunday memories will come flooding back of the brilliant solo try scored by young half-back Logan Astley in our last home game against North Wales Crusaders.
Logan, aged 19, spotted a disorganised defensive line ahead of him, just outside the Crusaders’ 20-metre line, and he took matters inro his own hands by quickly hitting top gear, flying through the hole and then leaving Cru full-back Tommy Johnson grasping at thin air as he swerved around his right shoulder and dived over the line.
How good was that?
“It was the best individual try I’ve seen for years — and I’ve seen a few,”
said lifelong Roughyeds fan Michael Turner of the Oldham RL Heritage Trust.
Added Roughyeds head coach Stu Littler
“It was a quality try. He’s a special player. As the chairman said when presenting him with his Magic Moment award, he can make something happen out of nothing.”
And Steve McCormack, who was once on the coaching staff at Wigan:
“I’ve seen all four of them grow up in the game and they’re all special lads, believe me. Everybody raves about Logan, but I’m not convinced he is going to be the best of the four.”
The other three are centre Alex Sutton and forwards Jack Bibby and Toby Brannan, all of whom are on loan with us to the end of the season, although as happened last weekend, they can be recalled by their parent club for reserve-team rugby without any breach of their loan agreements.
Oliver Field, another youngster, has not yet been recalled by Leeds Rhinos and he is taking like a duck to water our grooming of him as a front-row forward. He played at open-side prop in our win at Midlands Hurricanes and with full-back Kian Morgan, who has starred recently at centre and at stand-off, the ever-reliable Joe Hartley, who played in the centre, half-backs Martyn Ridyard and Dave Hewitt, loose-forward Emmerson Whittel and sub forward Sean Slater a livewire from dummy half, Field was a stand-out performer in south Birmingham.
But what more can we tell you of teenager Astley, who will always be the cub of the moment if he continues to score tries like the one he scored the last time we played at home?
Well, he told the Talking Yeds podcast:
“It’s been good at Oldham so far. It has given me the opportunity to play first-team rugby. I have only played one game for the Warriors first team so this gives me good experience of playing against men and Ive really enjoyed that,
“It is definitely harder than reserve-grade rugby and in this league (Betfred League One) there are some really tough games , some good teams and some players with Super League experience.”
Born in Billinge, he started playing rugby league, aged five, at Wigan St Pat’s and by the time he was 12 he was also playing at Wigan RU Club. While at St Pat’s, he won a national cup final as well as a number of cups and trophies while at Standish High and at Wigan RUFC.
He has England under-16 honours, has played academy rugby union for Sale Sharks and is accustomed to both codes of rugby.
He has passed through the system at Warriors — scholarship, academy and reserves — and has played one Super League game to date against Huddersfield Giants.
