Alliance could make all the difference

Date published: 18 December 2014


SCOTT Naylor believes Oldham’s new partnership with Huddersfield Giants could provide the clout to carry Roughyeds into the Championship.

Two teams will win promotion from the 14-club League One next season and with the support and backing of Giants boss Paul Anderson, the Oldham coach already has his sights on one of those top prizes.

Naylor says his nearly-men — beaten Grand Finalists in each of the two seasons he has been in charge at Whitebank — require only a touch of additional class, which will arrive with the dual-registered players from Oldham’s Super League partners.

Commenting on the new link-up, Naylor said he was looking forward to working once again with Anderson, his old Bradford Bulls team-mate of more than a decade ago.

Added Oldham’s coach: “We are delighted by this. Giants have a lot of quality running right through their club and looking at the calibre of the players who could be heading our way, the dual-registration system should work really well for us.

“I firmly believe that dual-reg players from St Helens and Leeds Rhinos respectively made the big difference when Rochdale and then Hunslet beat us in he play-off finals of 2013 and 2014.

“Hopefully, Huddersfield players will help us to win in 2015 because the boys who will be joining us are real quality.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll get Nathan Mason again. It all depends on the situation at both clubs at any given time.

“It won’t be a case of the Giants telling us who we must have. All decisions will be made jointly, bearing in mind that it will be in their interests as well as ours for Oldham to do well and to succeed in going up to the higher division.

“If Nathan (Mason) happens to be in the mix, great. We know his capabilities and he knows us as well as we know him.

“There a lot of other quality youngsters over there, however, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens.

“It will be interesting to see how the Giants boys settle in at Whitebank and to what extent they lift our players. Hopefully, they will improve us by those few notches that will make all the difference.”