Roughyeds on track, says Benson

TONY BENSON’S end-of-term Oldham report card reads ‘top of the class’.

The Roughyeds coach took charge of his first skills session with the squad this week, having up to now concentrated on getting his men physically ready for the new season since the start of pre-season training back in early November.

That work has paid dividends and will continue when training heads into the New Year. At the same time, though, with a number of friendlies just around the corner —starting with a trip to face Salford on Sunday, January 4, for Paul Highton’s testimonial game — Benson is keen to give fans a taste of things to come.

“We are doing very well in terms of where we expected to be,” said the Kiwi, who has varied training by taking the players into ju-jitsu, boxing and wrestling sessions.

“We are a level fitter in our testing, and on average both 10 kilos stronger in our weights and two kilos heavier in lean mass.

“The objective for our first phase has been achieved and now we can start to get into the skills work.

“We are still in the power endurance phase and that will continue, so we won’t be in ideal shape for the Salford game. We will be treating it as part of our training and our objective is to make sure we are ready for the first game on February 8.

“Most people I have bumped into have asked that we play attractive rugby and the pleasing thing is that some of that was evident when we did the first ball work this week.”