Bravo ready to make bow for Oldham

DANNY Bravo will make his Oldham RL debut when Roughyeds go to Gateshead on Sunday (3pm), seeking to pull off their first away win of the season and consolidate their place in the play-off places.

The 20-year-old Leeds Rhinos forward, here initially on a month's loan, is included in a party of 19 to travel to Tyneside, alongside his fellow Rhinos youngster Callum Casey.

Casey (21) scored two tries on his debut for the reserves in the defeat of Sheffield Eagles last Saturday (they won again at York last night, 39-22, see Page 35), but Bravo is still waiting to don an Oldham jersey for the first time.

"This is an opportunity for me to look at the Leeds boys in Championship One competition before we finalise the squad to push ahead into the business end of the season," said coach Tony Benson.

Huddersfield-born Bravo, a six-foot 13st3lbs second-row who can also play prop, looks certain to get his big chance in the back-row rather than the front three where propping duties will be shared by Jason Boults, Dave Ellison, Luke Sutton and Luke Stenchion.

It was planned for another new boy, Bruce Johnson, to move up to the senior side at prop after three storming games in the reserves, but it has now emerged that he damaged a finger in last Saturday's win against Sheffield.

Benson will pick from this squad when he ties up all the loose ends at training tomorrow:

Boults, Bravo, Brocklehurst, Casey, Clough, Dallimore, Ellison, Fogarty, Forber, Heaton, Isherwood, McCully, Noone, Robinson, M Roden, N Roden, Stenchion, Sutton, Ward.

Gateshead's last win against pro opposition was in March, 2010, but they gave Doncaster a run for their money last week and they are hoping to sign two dual-registered players from a Super League club in time for them to play on Sunday.