New club for fans set for launch

MICHAEL Bradshaw - ‘Braddy’ to everyone on the local rugby league circuit - is inviting Roughyeds’ supporters to an open meeting at Waterhead ARL tomorrow (7pm for 7.30pm) to launch a new Official Oldham RL Supporters’ Club.

The club’s commercial manager, he also intends to re-form the Junior Roughyeds and to plan several major social events for the fans in 2009.

These include a meet-the-players open day with which to launch the new season; a fans’ forum for season-ticket holders and members of the newly-formed Official Supporters’ Club; a family fun day (to be held a month before school summer holidays in order to promote the Roughyeds’ summer camps); a Race Night; a Supporters’ Club and Junior Roughyeds player-of-the-year awards evening; and monthly meetings of the Junior Roughyeds.

There has not been an active Supporters’ Club linked to the parent club for several years and Braddy is keen to see it reformed alongside the rebirth of the junior section, the Junior Roughyeds.

“We can organise a full programme of social events for the fans, to be spread across the 2009 season, but first it is important that we re-launch the Supporters Club and the Junior Roughyeds on Thursday night,” said Braddy.

“I would like to think we can vote in a committee to run the Supporters’ Club and that the committee will have a big say in the organising and running of the social events.

“Supporters have been crying out for this sort of thing for a long time so I am asking them to turn up in big numbers on Thursday because we hope to provide them with their own supporters’ organisation and a programme of events spread over next season that will prove popular with young and old alike.”