MIKE Ford, who has played for Oldham, coached Oldham, done a mixture of both and is now back at the club as managing director, says current head coach Stu Littler will have the problem all coaches like to have when naming his 17 to face top-of-the-table Dewsbury Rams – a selection headache.
Speaking on Oldham Community Radio this morning, he said he wasn’t surprised that Littler had gone for the same 21-man squad as the one he opted to take to Workington last Sunday, given that once he had reduced it to the statutory 17, they went out and beat the Cumbrians 28-18 at Derwent Park.
The return of goalkicking stand-off and club captain Martyn Ridyard after injury; the re-appearance of winger Tommy Brierley after a 15-month lay-off with a serious leg injury; Callum Cameron’s return-to-arms after a long suspension; and the capture of new forward Pat Moran created a situation in which competition for places was paramount.
Said Ford:
“There’s a lot of pressure for places now and that’s what Stu wants. Dewsbury are unbeaten and top of the table for a reason, so it will be a big test for us and it will lay down a marker as to where we are in terms of comparison with other clubs who are towards the top of the table.”
Full squad: Ah Van, Baker, Blagbrough, Brierley, Cameron, Hartley, Hirst, McNally, Meadows, Moran, Morgan, Nelmes, Newton, Paga, Ridyard, Slater, Thornton, Whittel, Wilkinson, Wilson, Yarrow.
The four left out at Workington were all forwards – Dom Newton, James Thornton, Wigan’s dual-reg youngster Harvey Wilson and hooker Billy Yarrow.
The team went into action like this: McNally; Hartley, Hirst, Morgan, Ah Van; Ridyard, Paga; Meadows, Wilkinson, Nelmes, Cameron, Baker, Whittel. Subs: Slater, Blagbrough, Brierley, Moran.
Given that admission is FREE for everyone and that there will be more than 1,200 Oldham supporters in the ground, many of whom might be watching Roughyeds for the first time, here’s a summary of the players we are likely to see in red and white:
GREGG McNALLY (full-back): aged 32. Toured Australia with England Academy in 2008. Cumbrian, had three stints at home-town Whitehaven. Also played for Huddersfield Giants, from whom he had a brief stay here at Oldham on dual-reg in 2010. Played many times for Ireland plus 147 times for Leigh where he struck up a firm and close friendship with Martyn Ridyard, now his captain at Oldham.
JOE HARTLEY (wing): Local lad who spent man years at Oldham St Anne’s where his robust displays in the backs earned him a call-up for England Students. Strong and spirited, he has done well at this level since realising his ambition to play for Oldham a couple of years ago.
GEORGE HIRST (centre): A young player from Almondbury Spartans, near Huddersfield, he is equally at home in the second-row and he is both big enough for the forwards – tall and rangy – and fast enough for the backs. Full of confidence and more than capable of ‘making it’ as a pro.
KIAN MORGAN (centre): A talented youngster who is in his second season here. Voted fans’ player of the year in 2022 and also named our ‘Rising Star’.Pacy and with a penchant for taking on defenders at top speed, Kian is a fans’ favourite with an eye for the try line – and with the speed, strength and resolve to get there’
PATRICK AH VAN (wing): Big and runs like a rhino. At the age of 35, still scores tries-a plenty. A handful for the best defence, he was born in Auckland, New Zealand and has played for both the Kiwis and Samoa. In his younger days he captained the Junior Kiwis and went on to play in Super League with Bradford and Widnes. Came to Oldham from North Wales Crusaders.
MARTYN RIDYARD (stand-off): Aged 36, club captain, ace goalkicker, tactical schemer and the onfield ‘voice’ of coach Stu Littler. Played much of his career at Leigh where he broke goalkicking records for fun and had his name carved in Centurions folk lore.
JORDAN PAGA (Scrum-half): Another young Yorkshireman. Of Polish descent, was born and raised in Huddersfield. Captained England Students before turning pro for Hunslet, from whom he came to Oldham during the last close season. Currently fourth in the Betfred League One try-scoring chart with seven tries in our first six league games.
DEANE MEADOWS (prop): Raised at Shevington Sharks in Wigan, he represented BARLA Lancashire in 2019 when the county select travelled to Serbia and beat Red Star Belgrade. Signed for Swinton Lions on his return and had three successful seasons at Heywood Roasd where he played a key role in 2022 as life with the Lions included promotion to the Championship.
MATTY WILKINSON (hooker): Made his name here before joining Swinton Lions and then coming ‘home’ last year. Has made a great recovery from a broken leg which doesn’t seem to have affected his speed out of dummy half. He provides a great service from the play-the-ball and is very often at the heart of our best moves.
LUKE NELMES (prop): Almost ‘part of the furniture’ in the engine room of our pack, Luke had a blinder up in Workington last week. Was team vice-captain last year, but it didn’t do his own form any good, such was his commitment and determination to try and help others in his role of special responsibility. In his second spell here, he was at Dewsbury in the interim so he will have a few special reasons for recapturing his Cumbrian form against the Rams.
CALLUM CAMERON (second-row): After reacting to provocation, this former Waterhead and Huddersfield Giants youngster took a lengthy RFL ban on the chin at the back end of last season. He was back with a bang at Workington where he did 80 minutes in his first game for the best part of a year. Now looking forward to testing himself against the Rams in what will be his first home game of the season.
ZAC BAKER (second-row): Tough and aggressive, Zac joined us from Rochdale before the start of the season. A product of Mayfield, Rochdale Hornets and Matt Calland, he spent a year in Australia at the club that developed Matty Ashton, another Mayfield boy now making a name for himself at Warrington Wolves.
EMMERSON WHITTEL (loose-forward): Just call him Action Man ! ‘Emmy’, as he is best known, is the club’s Mr Perpetual Motion. He’s constantly looking for work, taking the ball in, making the hard yards or tackling like a trojan. Named the club’s Player of the Year in 2022, Whittel is in his second stint at Oldham, having also played in Western Australia and up in Queensland. They thought the world of him Down Under, but there’s no place like home for a Yorkshireman whose partner wishes their first baby to be born on White Rose soil.
