Naylor’s high hopes for trio

Photo: Tim Bradley

LOOKING GOOD . . . Jack Holmes (second, right) has a lot of class and natural ability says coach Scott Naylor.

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OLDHAM RL new boys Adam Neal, Jarrod Ward and Jack Holmes have all been singled out as potential stars of 2015 by head coach Scott Naylor.

The trio was on from the start in Sunday’s opening warm-up game of the season, an occasionally ill-tempered 26-24 defeat at Kingstone Press Championship One rivals Swinton Lions.

Despite the defeat in the opening hit-out of the year, Naylor was delighted with prop Neal’s performance as he showed glimpses of the capabilities that earned him 45 Super League appearances for Salford before he decided to take a break in 2014.

Naylor said: “All three new lads were very good. Adam Neal was excellent, particularly when you consider that he hadn’t played for 12 months. Analysing him at Swinton, it didn’t look as though he hadn’t played for two weeks, never mind for over a year. He was great.

“I could have left him on, and that’s huge credit to Adam and his professionalism. He’s going to be a top quality player for us.”

Full-back Ward — a local lad who has been on the books at Salford, Bradford and Halifax — also impressed Naylor, as did young utility-back Holmes.

The Roughyeds coach added: “Jarrod carried the ball superbly and was strong — that’s the reason I brought him in. He plays the game in the right way, and he’ll learn and get better as the season goes on.

“As for Jack, he’s got a lot of class, and loads of natural ability.”

Oldham head to the Sports Village on Sunday to take on Paul Rowley’s Centurions. The match kicks-off at 3pm.