Sweet and sour for Roughyeds

George Tyson.

OLDHAM will go into the Kingstone Press Championship Shield opener against Sheffield Eagles on Sunday without George Tyson - but the Roughyeds could welcome back Danny Langtree.

Centre Tyson was charged with a Grade 'B' offence for 'punching' after the derby clash with Rochdale Hornets at Bower Fold.

The case was heard by the independent disciplinary panel yesterday, and Tyson was told he must sit out the trip to the Beaumont Legal Stadium, Wakefield, and the visit of Bradford Bull seven days later.

Oldham coach Scott Naylor wants Tyson (pictured) to clean up his act.

Said Naylor: "We're disappointed to lose George at such a crucial stage of the season.

"He has missed half-a-dozen games because of bans this year. That's about 30-per-cent of our season, which is far too many for one of our top players.

"He has got to learn not to get involved and stay away from situations."

Oldham players met up for the first time last night after a week off.

Naylor put his squad through their paces on the new Whitebank 3G surface, and Langtree's involvement in the session was a major boost.

Langtree is recovering from a bicep injury, which has curtailed his appearances since the beginning of July.

"Nobody is saying Danny is definitely going to play on Sunday," said Naylor.

"We'll have another look tomorrow and on Saturday morning and go on from there.

"At this time of the year there aren't many teams who can safely say they've got 17 fully fit players. Some will be carrying knocks and it's a case of managing them properly."

For once it was easier for Naylor to list the injury absentees, rather than those players who are fit.

While Adam Neal (broken jaw) hopes to be back before the end of the season, definitely ruled out are long-term absentees Phil Joy, Craig Briscoe, Gareth Owen and Richard Lepori.

That means Dave Hewitt (thigh), Luke Adamson (shoulder) and Mike Wilkinson (ankle) are expected to be available for this weekend's Shield showdown.