Naylor bemoans set of familiar failings

DISAPPOINTED: Scott Naylor

SCOTT Naylor's frustration was at boiling point after watching his Oldham side let slip another big lead.

The Roughyeds coach vented his anger at the inability of the players to see out a game they had control of at half-time. He was also upset at some of the close calls that went against his team.

"I feel as though we've just played Swinton all over again," said Naylor referring to the 2016 Summer Bash when Oldham lost a game they should have won after building a 20-0 advantage.

"Brilliant in the first half; come the second half, we don't get anything off the officials, including a contentious video decision.

"Last year we got done by an obstruction video decision. This time he gave them eight points instead of six. We were losing the penalty count 7-1 in the second half after 20 minutes.

"When we got the ball we couldn't complete any sets and when the opposition gets on a roll, you then have to man up.

"When we got the odd decision and could put some pressure on Rochdale, we just didn't do it.

"We got exactly what we deserved in the way we played, but we got absolutely nothing from the officials in the second half."

Oldham led 26-12 at the break, but could only manage a Scott Leatherbarrow penalty two minutes into the second period as Rochdale dominated.

Naylor went on: "Unfortunately that is the bit (good in the first half, bad in the second) that keeps going through my head at night and that keeps me awake.

"We did it last week against Batley, and we've done it again here. We've done it against other teams as well.

"We do fantastic, have a talk at half-time about doing the simple, basic stuff, things like that.

"When we do that, so far we haven't lost a game, apart from against London when we lost by two points.

"For some reason we have turned into the team that we were last season, where we lose the penalty count heavily and don't complete our sets.

"At present we are not showing the attitude defensively to stop teams from scoring against us.

"Simple, basic ways of winning a game of rugby, we are struggling with at present. We're doing it for 40 minutes and it's having a catastrophic effect on us as a team.

"I've tried to fix it, but I can't go on the field and make people do it."