Main men having it tough

Jason Boults

THE BARE statistics give a good indication of just how gruelling a campaign this has been for Oldham so far.

Since losing 26-20 at Rochdale in the Law Cup game on January 13, the success that Steve Deakin's men have had in the knockout stages of the cup competitions has meant they haven't had a single week's rest in which to catch a breath.

No other club in professional rugby league has endured such a non-stop schedule.

In a normal run of events, the entire squad would come into play in order to give key men a break every now and again given such a run of games.

But because of a combination of injuries, retirements and work commitments, that hasn't really ever happened. The ammunition in reserve to step into the breach has been mostly absent.

Of the 28 players who have turned out for the Roughyeds in 2008, five have been unable to contribute more than five appearances.

Experienced prop forward Warren Stevens failed to have much of an impact after he was handed a two-year deal and has since left the sport; Alex Wilkinson hasn't been in the side since the end of March due to difficulties with shift patterns at work; and Daryl Cardiss is embarking on the comeback trail following shoulder surgery.

Poor Ben Seru, brought to the club from The Army in a blaze of publicity, lasted only a few minutes on debut before hurting a knee against Wakefield, and hasn't been able to play since.

And even the loan signing of Luke Menzies didn't work out satisfactorily for anybody. The promising young prop only played three times before being unexpectedly recalled by Hull KR when just about everyone thought he would stay on with the Roughyeds.

Remove those players from the squad and you are left with just 23, while you can also add to that number the two contracted players who haven't made a single appearance, the now-retired Lee Sanderson and Lee Wingfield, who hasn't been involved for weeks due to work commitments.

Even after that there is Simon Baldwin, who signed as a prop, only able to manage eight showings.

It has meant in turn that starting front row men, unsung heroes Richard Mervill and Jason Boults, have once again had to get through a huge amount of work.

Between them, the pair have only missed ONE match out of a total of 27 this year, an amazing record given the intense physical nature of their role.

Mervill's ever-present league record since joining the club at the start of the last season was only broken when he missed a home match with Hunslet earlier this year, while Boults has played in every match in 2008.

And at half-back, Neil Roden and James Coyle have hardly had a rest all season.

Coyle has played in every match, while Roden, who came off early at Barrow with a back problem, has missed just one game to date.

Still, especially given the big impact that the new signings had on the side at around this time last year, Roughyeds supporters will hope that the club can bring in a few new faces to ease the mental and physical pressure on the club's key men.