Hough aiming high for future
Reporter: Oldham Roughyeds round-up by Matthew Chambers
Date published: 04 March 2009
JOHN Hough has a dream: to fill Oldham's first-team with young, local players.
The reserves coach, who signed a new one-year deal along with assistant Leo Casey to take charge of the team for the second season running in 2009, hopes that more players will follow in the footsteps of the five players who recently graduated to the professional ranks.
Scott Mansfield, Anthony Bingham, Chris Clarke, Ben Heaton and Mark Smith are all now on two-year contracts, with three of those men — Mansfield, Bingham and Smith — already having had run-outs in the first team's pre-season friendlies.
Now, with the new reserves year having got underway with a positive 28-6 friendly win at Hunslet, Hough admits he is enjoying his time on the sidelines.
"It has been a learning curve for both myself and Leo," said Hough, who quit playing at the end of 2007 after 10 years of service to the club. "It is difficult going from playing to coaching, though Leo has been retired for longer than I have.
"For both of us it is our first professional coaching role and while we have enjoyed it there has been plenty to learn.
"It is very different being on the other side of the fence but also very satisfying to have had those five players going on to turn professional.
"Hopefully, in two or three years time, the majority of the first team will be local lads. The idea is that the reserves team is a stepping stone and we want to see our young players progressing."
A number of new players have signed deals to join Oldham's reserves squad for 2009.
Hooker Todd O'Brien, who turned out 10 times for Rochdale's first team last year, and fellow ex-Hornets men Jamie Knight, brother Danny Knight and Matty Moores have come on board. The four are all Oldhamers.
Dave Levenston is travelling over from Warrington, with Jacob Kinney doing likewise from Leigh, while Rishworth-based pair Brett Durkin and Ben Hinsley have made the short journey across to Oldham from the disbanded Halifax reserves side.
Of the new men only Durkin didn't play in the win at Hunslet last week, a game which left Hough satisfied with the way the side performed.
"To be honest after the game I was unsure as to how we had done, but looking back at the DVD it showed we produced some real quality stuff," he said, after a performance which featured tries from Luke Sutton, Mansfield, Bingham, Simeon Hoyle and Neil Roden (two).
"It wasn't necessarily all down to the first-team lads. They helped, undoubtedly, but the younger lads did well too and it was good to see, though it is still very early days."
Hough and Casey take charge of their first competitive match of the year on Saturday, April 18, at home to Hunslet. The reserves season is to run for 16 matches in total in 2009, with no play-off competition at the end.
Oldham reserves squad for 2009: Jacob Kinney, Dale Lowe, David Orwell, Scott Mansfield, Anthony Bingham, Chris Clarke, Ben Heaton, Mark Smith, Todd O'Brien, Jamie Knight, Anthony Morrison, Phil Jagger, Alex Eyres, Michael Ward, Matty Moores, Ben Hinsley, Brett Durkin, Dave Levenston, Shaun Robinson, Danny Knight.
