Baines delight at bright start

Chris Baines (left): Rising to the challenge.

REVITALISED second row man Chris Baines, described by his coach as “sensational” in the midweek defeat of Rochdale Hornets, is delighted at the way he has put the misery of last year behind him.

The 24-year-old played 26 times in total for Oldham in 2008, with all but four of those appearances coming from off the bench. The feeling was, though, that he failed to hit the heights he was capable of anywhere near regularly enough.

Following a post-season pep talk and the installation of a new coach in Tony Benson, though, Baines is grateful to have had the slate wiped clean.

“I am feeling confident about my rugby again, ” said the former Warrington Wolves academy player, now in his fourth season with the club and the longest-serving member of the current squad.

“Last year I just couldn’t get any consistency together and knew that I wasn’t playing well. To be honest, I couldn’t wait for the season to be over and done with.

“I don’t think I have shown my true potential at Oldham yet. Hopefully, having started this season well, I can carry it on.”

Baines is now set to start for the third game running against Sheffield Eagles at Boundary Park on Sunday (3pm kick off) and is aiming to keep on impressing Benson in order to fend off those other squad members competing for his place.

PRESSURE

“When Tony came in it was a new start for everyone,” Baines added. “I knew that I needed a big pre-season and, with the competition for places that exists, it has only helped.

“It isn’t just about one to 17 on the field. It is also about the players who don’t get picked, who are pushing you to perform due to the pressure for places.

“We seem to have bonded well off the field and there is a good team spirit here. Obviously we are still early on in the season, but if it carries on like this I don’t see why it can’t be a big year for us.”

Roughyeds chief executive Chris Hamilton negotiated the deal which kept Baines at the club despite him having an offer to go elsewhere.

“I had a long chat with him in the boardroom at the end of last season,” Mr Hamilton explained. “Though he had played in most of our games, he was coming off the bench and was certainly not performing to the level that both we and the player himself knew him to be capable of.

“To be fair to Bainesy he has worked really hard in pre-season. He has really pushed on and is now reaping the rewards of that.”

As for the visitors in Northern Rail Cup pool one, Co-operative Championship side Sheffield have had a mixed start to the season.

Coach Mark Aston is still awaiting the arrival of three of his new overseas signings. While Papua New Guinea centre Menzie Yere arrived in time to play in the 44-18 loss at Gateshead at the weekend, compatriot Trevor Exton is one of a number of RL players to have had an initial visa application rejected by the UK Border Agency. The club have appealed the decision, which was made on the grounds of the player having driving offences on his record.

The Eagles, who boast two former Roughyeds men in their ranks — second row forward Ged Corcoran and hooker Matty Brooks — are also still without Samoan Tangi Ropati and Fijian scrum-half Aaron Groom, who played in the NRL for Canterbury Bulldogs last season.

Aston’s men won their other pool one match at home to Hunslet 38-16, with Brooks getting on the scoresheet twice on debut.