Step in the right direction, says coach

LITTLE more than a year ago, Oxford won 18-16 at Whitebank on a dark day for Oldham - which coach Scott Naylor firmly believes was the catalyst for a stunningly consistent run of 11 wins and a draw in the remaining 13 games of the season.

Twelve months on, he thinks the bitterly-disappointing 38-12 reverse at Hunslet Hawks on Good Friday could similarly have kicked his Roughyeds to life.

“A kick up the backside can sometimes do a lot of good,” said the Oldham boss after a Roughyeds side showing several changes smashed Oxford, scored 48 points and never looked in serious trouble.

“We learned a lot about ourselves at Hunslet,” added Naylor. “We changed training slightly with the intention of producing a more consistent brand of rugby and it was pleasing and rewarding to see a lot of the stuff we have been working on behind the scenes proving useful against Oxford.

“This was a huge improvement on our Hunslet performance. We showed a lot more intensity and desire in what was definitely a step in the right direction. A lot of things pleased me and I would say that in the first half we came up with the best 40 minutes we have put together as a team since the season began.

“Having said that, we let them in for 28 points and that’s a big no-no. There are areas of our game we still need to improve on hugely, not least the need to play for the full 80, which we need to fix before it becomes a big problem.”