Rotation policy working

EIGHT games into the season and the number of ever-presents in the Oldham RL Club’s line-up is down to just three — Josh Crowley, Jack Holmes and Jarrod Ward.

That’s a direct result of Scott Naylor’s rotation policy, which has resulted in the use of 26 players in five cup games and three in the league.

Naylor’s men have won each of their three league games and currently sit top, with the best defensive record in the division and the second-best scoring figures.

The Roughyeds’ coach is convinced that huge factors in the surge are the exceptional fitness of his players and his belief that all members of his squad need to be involved and kept on their toes.

The 38-10 defeat of Coventry at Whitebank in the first home league game of the season was achieved without half a dozen front-line players.

Naylor said: “It’s important that we keep all the players tidy and fresh, and ready to respond to the call when it comes. It’s going to be a long, hard season and I have to guard against situations in which I’m asking players to step up and do a good job when they might have been kicking their heels for a few weeks.

“That apart, I needed to know what every player in the squad was capable of, and I know now that they can all step up and do a good job.”

Recent centre recruit Tom Ashton, who has looked a great prospect on the evidence of his one and a half games in the Oldham jersey, suffered knee damage in South Wales to end that injury-free run. He will be assessed at training tonight.

Naylor went on: “You can’t legislate for injuries like that. It was nothing to do with his fitness or his general condition. It was what I call a rugby injury rather than an issue about his strength and stamina.

“Our fitness is first-class.”