Roary’s Pride to return

Roary’s Pride, Oldham’s junior members club, is set to make a comeback, with plans underway to bring more young supporters closer to the Roughyeds.

First launched in 2019, Roary’s Pride was created to give younger supporters a closer connection to the club, encouraging under-16s to get involved and grow up supporting the Roughyeds.

Based around the club’s much-loved mascot Roary, the initiative offered a mixture of fun activities and educational experiences, with regular events such as visits from the local fire service, giving members the chance to learn valuable life skills.

The club was put on hold when the Covid pandemic hit, but now, having hung up his camera after 19 years of service to Oldham, David Murgatroyd is turning his attention to bringing Roary’s Pride back to life and inspiring the next generation of Roughyeds supporters.

There are already signs of things to come, with Roary recently visiting Waterhead to present medals at the club’s junior presentation ceremony, alongside current Oldham player and former pathway junior Harry Knight.

With Roary’s community appearances set to increase, he is already booked in for further presentation events at local amateur clubs. Any clubs or organisations wishing to have Roary attend a community event can get in touch via joe.warburton@roughyeds.co.uk.

Sitting under the Oldham Rugby League Foundation, Roary’s Pride will be supported by volunteers David Murgatroyd, Joe Warburton and Andy Barratt, alongside Foundation CEO Chris Chamberlain and Oldham director Sasi Patel.

Further details on Roary’s Pride, including how young supporters can get involved, will be announced soon.