Oldham to make late call on Roden

NEIL Roden could be fit to return to the Roughyeds ranks for the game at Workington on Sunday.

The influential 30-year-old half-back has missed the last three matches with a broken toe — two of which Oldham have lost, after being unbeaten in eight of their previous nine.

Roughyeds coach Tony Benson is likely to give it until Saturday morning before making a final decision on Roden’s fitness.

But if he does play, it could lead to the visitors at Derwent Park fielding an all-new half-back line-up of Roden and on-loan Gregg McNally, who is 11 years his junior.

Beaten by a handsome margin of 60-4 by Hunslet, Oldham will be keen to rediscover their winning ways against a Workington outfit who have only been beaten twice on home soil.

The Cumbrians are searching for a fourth successive victory after defeating London Skolars (away), Doncaster (home) and Gateshead (away) in their last three outings.

“We are looking at the Oldham game as our most important of the season so far,” said chairman Dave Bowden. “A win against a team in the top three would be a marker for the rest of the campaign, and would give us a real push in the right direction.”




ROUGHYEDS reserves play York City Knights at Whitebank on Saturday (3pm), bidding to complete a league double after winning 26-18 at York a month ago.