Cousins provide Oldham tonic

COUSINS Martin and Neil Roden — assistant coach and club captain — are set to give Oldham RL Club a double boost in Caerphilly on Sunday.

Both trained normally at the Whitebank Stadium last night, after missing the Challenge Cup-tie at Hull because of injury, and will be back in the side against South Wales Scorpions (3pm kick-off), adding essential experience and rugby nous.

Five others who did not play on Humberside — Danny Whitmore, Ben Heaton, Carl Forber, Jack Bradbury and Jason Boults — will also be keen to return to the Roughyeds side.

Early in the week there was a scare over young Matthew Fogarty, who could not train on Tuesday because of a stomach bug, but he was back running on full throttle last night.

On the down side Andy Isherwood is likely to be given another week to fully recover from his shoulder problem, while Marcus St Hilaire is out after damaging a hand in an accident at work after being due to return to the side following a calf injury.

Stand by, though, for a possible reappearance — for the first time this season — of Mick Fogerty, who last week agreed a deal covering the remainder of this season and the whole of next.

“There are one or two fundamentals still to be sorted out with Mick,” said club chairman Chris Hamilton. “But we hope to be getting down to that at some point today.”