Wilko confident

NEW FACES . . . Matt Wilkinson (left), Kameron Pearce-Paul, Sadiq Adebiyi. Not pictured: Connor Williams. PICTURE by ANTHONY MILLER

MATT Wilkinson knew exactly what he was doing when he put pen to paper on a deal that tied him to Oldham to November 30.

He wasn't looking for an easy ride, that's for sure - not when you're signing for a club that's lost eight games on the spin and has just dropped into the bottom-two relegation zone.

The 21-year-old former Salford Red Devils hooker had a spell in League One with North Wales Crusaders last season and, more recently, he has been playing in the Championship with Halifax on dual-registration from what was then his Betfred Super League Club, the Red Devils.

When he got his release he could have signed permanently for Halifax, but he opted to join Roughyeds for several reasons, one of which was his genuine belief that Scott Naylor's men can get that elusive win soon and then press on to secure their place in the second tier.

Having played against Oldham for Fax in the Yorkshire club's 30-12 win at Bower Fold a fortnight ago, coming off the bench, Wilkinson is well qualified to tell Roughyeds how others see them.

MARGINS

"I know you wouldn't think so because of the score, but Oldham should have won that day and if they'd scored when George Tyson broke and turned it inside to Scott Leatherbarrow, at 12-12, I firmly believe they would have won," said the Roughyeds new boy.

Leatherbarrow's free run to the line was recalled for a forward pass - a correct ruling, but one which was typical of how narrow margins have worked against Naylor's men in the last few weeks.

"If they can play like that against Halifax, there's no reason why we - it's 'we' now, isn't it - can't start to climb the table and get ourselves out of trouble."

If selected, it all starts for Leigh-born Wilkinson at Bower Fold on Sunday against top-four French side Toulouse Olympique, who cantered to a 58-18 win against Roughyeds on a steaming hot day in Blagnac, a suburb of the French city, in April.

The return game brings the French to Stalybridge for the first time - and after their shock 32-24 defeat at Dewsbury last week, they'll be desperate to topple an injury-hit Oldham side.

There's every chance that Wilkinson and the other young new boys - on-loan trio Connor Williams, Kameron Pearce-Paul and Sadiq Adebiyi - will make their Bower Fold debuts.

RETURN

Having failed with a licensing application for Super League in 2009, Toulouse joined the Championship instead and spent three seasons in the English second tier before returning to French domestic rugby.

A further three years down the line, which included two French titles, they again applied to play in England and were admitted to League One for the start of the 2016 campaign. They went on to beat Barrow in the play-offs to clinch their Championship place, after losing the promotion final to Rochdale in a shock result.

Their away form is not as good as their form on French soil and they have suffered since losing their star half-backs, Jon Ford and Stan Robin, to injury.

To plug the gap they've enlisted ex-Warrington and Whitehaven half Louis Jouffret (21) from Catalans Dragons on dual-reg.

Loose-forward Andrew Bentley, New Zealand-born but a French international on residential grounds, is the brother of former Oldham player Valu Bentley, who moved to Oxford five years ago.