Rovers warm-up date

OLDHAM RL Club have arranged to play Featherstone Rovers away on Sunday, February 5 (3pm kick-off) in their third warm-up game ahead of the 2012 Co-operative Championship One campaign.

Seven days later, on Sunday, February 12, Roughyeds will again take on the Championship title winners — the best team outside Super League — when the curtain goes up on the new season with the opening round of the Northern Rail Cup at Whitebank (3pm).

“It isn’t ideal to meet twice like that,” said Oldham chairman Chris Hamilton. “But we were talking to Rovers about a friendly before the Northern Rail and the league fixtures came out and both clubs had already pencilled it in for February 5.

“There isn’t much scope to make late changes to our pre-season programme because most clubs are fixed up by now, so we have decided to go along with it.”

Coach Tony Benson added: “We’ve three weeks between the Law Cup game at Whitebank and our SEAT Trophy clash with Whitehaven in Cumbria. In an ideal world the Featherstone friendly would have split them, but we’ve gone for a date that was available because it’s an opportunity to play a quality side.

“It will be a big test for us. As a third friendly, it will also allow me to implement my plan to look at as many members of the squad as possible before the start of the season proper.”

The Roughyeds’ pre-season programme is:

January 2: v Rochdale Hornets at Whitebank (3pm) for the Law Cup.

January 22: v Whitehaven away (3pm) for the SEAT Trophy

February 5: v Featherstone away (3pm).



THE Junction Inn, Ripponden Road, will provide free transport from that side of town to Whitebank for the Law Cup game. They also plan to run a bus to Whitehaven at a cost of £14 per head.