Aerial power can scupper Scorpions

LEE Spencer will have no worries about throwing Dan Brotherton in at the deep end when Oldham play South Wales in Neath on Sunday.

As his former boss at Salford, Spencer has every confidence in the lanky, 6ft 5in dual registered winger.

Brotherton (21) is said to be a player of genuine pace, who used it extensively when becoming the Salford reserve team's top try-scorer in 2012.

“He's an out-and-out finisher, but he's also good defensively and in the air. With Jon Ford on one side of the field and Dan Brotherton on the other we'll have a fair bit of size in the backs and it will give us a lot of aerial power," said Spencer

As Brotherton and the other new recruit, Anthony Bowman, have had only one training run-out with the Oldham squad, Spencer intends to find time at tomorrow's final session of the week to take them on one side and acquaint them with the Roughyeds' systems and structures.

Head coach Scott Naylor has warned that Scorpions will be just as formidable as Crusaders were last week.

And there's a belief in the Roughyeds camp that the Welsh side will have the opportunity to make maximum use of their own dual-reg agreements with Wigan Warriors on a weekend when there are no Super League games because of the England v Exiles game at Warrington tonight.

Six Wigan youngsters are listed on the Scorpions website as dual-registration members of their first-team squad.

"We'll face another tough challenge, but I'm sure we'll be up for it," said Spencer.