Oldham on red alert

JASON Boults is one of only six survivors of last season’s first-team squad.

THE squad that Scott built will be showcased for the first time at Whitebank on Sunday.

The ‘new’ Oldham RL side warms up for the 2013 eason against Super League link club Salford City Reds (kick-off 3pm).

No-nonsense boss Scott Naylor has spent four months signing new and predominantly young, players to mould.

Only six remain from last year — Neil Roden, Jamie Dallimore, Liam Gilchrist, Jason Boults, Michael Ward and David Cookson.

Naylor’s 12 new boys include three 19-year-olds.

The remaining four squad members have been promoted to the seniors after seasons in the reserve team.

All of these, except the suspended Cookson and the injured Thompson, are expected to play on Sunday.

Naylor said: “Salford will seriously test us, both in quality and physicality. I saw the same City Reds squad beat Leigh last week. They’re young, quick and talented.

“I’ll be interested to see how we go. We’ve had a great pre-season, but the picture only becomes clearer once you start playing.

“It was important for us to get a game under our belts before the Law Cup game at Rochdale.

“We play them three times before the end of March — in the Law Cup, the Northern Rail Cup and the league — and by then we’ll have a pretty good idea of how things are looking.”