Ashton returns

PAUL ASHTON is back with the Roughyeds, three years after leaving the club.

Now aged 30, the former Halifax, Rochdale, Oldham and Saddleworth Rangers half-back is to assist the club’s reserves coach John Hough, taking up a similar role to that of John’s cousin Chris at the back end of last season.

Chris Hough and Ashton have similar backgrounds in the game. And after the success Chris had in bringing on the younger players in 2009 before departing to Hornets RL, the hope is Ashton can pull off a similar trick.

“Paul has been coming down to training with a view to stepping into Chris’s shoes,” said Roughyeds chairman Chris Hamilton.

“The idea is that he will effectively be doing an assistant coach’s job while playing in the reserves at the same time, just like Houghie did last year.

“He will be working specifically with the backs and using his experience to bring along the young lads and to guide them along both on and off the field.”

Ashton will be in the reserves squad for the first time at Keighley Cougars next Thursday (8pm kick-off) in a pre-season friendly.

Among the young players likely to be on show are first-year professionals such as Michael Ward, Austen Barrowclough, Jacob Kinney, Ross Coates and Ben Marsden, plus former Harlequins forward Jack Graves.

Several other local youngsters played in the side that represented Roughyeds in the pre-season Law Cup game with Hornets at Castleton and some of those may also be invited back for another run-out.