Naylor’s salute to arrivals

NATHAN Mason, pictured on debut against Oxford, is one of two new faces in the Oldham RL squad.

OLDHAM RL boss Scott Naylor believes his squad will be strengthened by the signings on loan, of Nathan Mason and Steve Roper.

By the time Roughyeds face York City Knights at Whitebank on Sunday they will have had only one game in 30 days - but the two new squad members will have had plenty of time to wrk their way in.

Mason played in the 48-28 win against Oxford on May 4 , four days after signing, but scrum-half Roper, from Rochdale Hornets, is still waiting for his debut.

It could come against York when Naylor hopes to have 24 of his 25 first-team squad members available for selection, giving him more choice than for any other game this season.

He believes that Mason and Roper have come in at just the right time, given that the York game will be the start of a crucial period in which fixtures will level out and Roughyeds will be in action on seven consecutive Sundays — three of them at home.

Said Naylor: “We had a good squad before the arrival of Mason and Roper, but we just needed a little bit more quality.

“One positive aspect of having had two blank weekends out of the last three is that we’ve had more time with which to get the new additions settled in. It’s also given the walking wounded more time to recover.

Neil Roden’s under-20s suffered a surprise 32-30 defeat in Nottingham by Midlands Regional Academy. Both teams scored six tries, but Midlands landed four goals to Tom Dempsey's three for Oldham.