Whitebank will be an advantage

ROUGHYEDS hooker John Clough reckons the club's Whitebank Stadium home could prove to be a major asset this coming season.

After playing there for the first time in Sunday's 50-0 pre-season win over Whitehaven, the 26-year-old now wants to turn the venue into a fortress as the club bids to get the 2011 campaign off to a bang.

The Northern Rail Cup begins on Sunday week, February 6, as newly-promoted Hunslet Hawks come to visit.

"A lot of teams won't be used to the hill," Clough said.

"That should work in our favour. It's also advantageous to have our fans so close to the pitch."

The 26-year-old former Salford, Leigh and Blackpool No 9 — Panthers' player of the year in 2010 — knows he is competing with Martin Roden, Danny Whitmore and Scott Mansfield for the role of Roughyeds' main hooker.

"A few of us were rested last Sunday," he said, "but the lads who did turn out came up with a great performance in the 50-0 defeat of Whitehaven. That shows the depth we have in the squad.

"I don't know whether it was Whitehaven's strongest side, but they've been tipped to be there or thereabouts this year and to beat them like we did has to be extremely encouraging.

"We've had a couple of good results in pre-season and everything is building towards the game against Hunslet at the Whitebank.

"The NRC games are important, but the main focus is on the league and hopefully we will continue to get stronger and stronger over the next few weeks so that we hit the ground running when Championship One starts in March.

"We've been working on a lot of things in training and they all came together in the Whitehaven game."

Matthew Fogarty, baby of the Oldham squad at 18, got head coach Tony Benson's call three weeks ago to join the seniors for training and he has since played in two pre-season outings, scoring his first try for the club against Whitehaven.

He said that training was tough — but good.

"I've found it very hard," he said. "It's been just as tough as it was in my Salford days, but I've enjoyed it, and it was brilliant to get my first try last Sunday.

"It took me two or three training sessions to get to know all the other lads and to feel at home with the first team, but I felt a lot more comfortable last Sunday.

"I don't know when I'll get picked again, but I can't wait."