Delight as Reilly agrees dual role

Paul Reilly

PAUL REILLY will double up for the Roughyeds next season, having signed on as both a player and assistant coach for 2010.

The 33-year-old former Huddersfield star, a high-profile capture at the start of last season, has thrashed out a new one-year deal to stay on with Oldham after emerging through a difficult patch to become a key member of the side which reached the Co-operative Championship One play-off final.

The deal also gets Reilly started on the coaching path he is keen to follow, replacing Mark Cass as Tony Benson’s right-hand man at the club.

“Paul was already offering his advice after Mark Cass left us last season,” said Roughyeds chairman Chris Hamilton.

“Coaching is something he is keen to get in to and after having had a chat with him, we are glad to offer him this opportunity.

“He remains a key member of the playing squad and we know this arrangement can work well.”

Reilly, a former England international with more then 150 Super League appearances to his name, found it tough at the start of last season with injuries and off-field concerns.

But he came into his own as the year reached its business end, starting all the Roughyeds’ play-off games in his preferred position at full-back.

“It took Paul a while to adjust,” Hamilton added.

“From being a full-time professional he was now combining starting work at four or five o’clock in the morning, doing a full day and then coming to train with us at night.

“He is over that now and has shown all his qualities for us. He has a wealth of experience and we are hoping to use that.

“This signing is an endorsement of the club and what we are trying to do here.”

Meanwhile, Keighley Cougars — who defeated Oldham in the 2009 play-off final to gain promotion to the Championship — have hit financial trouble.

A statement on the club’s official website said that tax authorities have refused a repayment plan put to them and that winding-up proceedings have been initiated.