League reject Oldham’s bid to enter team

OLDHAM Roughyeds have had their attempt to enter a side into the Gillette National Youth League turned down.

The Whitebank outfit wanted to put an under-18s side, operating under the name Oldham Limehurst, into the division, but the league’s management committee turned down the application.

Phil Bradbury, Oldham and District League secretary, wrote to the committee expressing concerns that local amateur teams already in the league, including Saddleworth Rangers, would fold if Roughyeds took some of their players.

Bradbury said: “In Oldham, as in other areas, there is a shortage of under-18s and we feel that forming any more teams could mean other sides folding.”

Roughyeds came up with the idea of creating Oldham Limehurst after signing up for the RFL’s Championship Scholarship scheme, which finds clubs for youngsters who have not been offered deals elsewhere at the end of their scholarship.