Painting the town red. . .

GETTING to know you: Coach John Hough (right) with his reserve-team squad at their team-bonding session.

ROUGHYEDS reserve team coach John Hough is aiming to carefully hone the right environment in which his young squad can succeed.

After announcing the recruitment of ex-Super League star Francis Maloney as a player mentor to give players the benefit of his experience, Hough took his squad out to the Manchester Paintball Arena at the Nile Mill in Fields New Road, Chadderton, for a night of fun away from the demands of pre-season training.

“We had a great time,” Hough said. “It’s important for the lads to get to know each other socially off the field, and that applies especially to a group like ours because players are coming in from all over the place and they need the right environment if they are to perform at their best.

“We had a great bonding session, enjoyed by everyone, and I’m sure we will reap the benefits in the months ahead. It was brilliant — really uplifting.”

Much of the Reserves’ pre-season work has been undertaken at Oldham Community Leisure’s new multi-million pound Chadderton Wellbeing Centre, a facility described by Hough as “fantastic”.

The Reserves opened up the year with a win at Keighley Cougars in their first pre-season warm-up game.

And they make a second appearance at Dewsbury this Thursday night (7.30pm kick off) in preparation for their opening league game at Leigh Centurions on Saturday, April 3 (3pm kick off).