Reilly keeping eye on prize

SIDE STEPPING: Roughyeds full-back Paul Reilly (with ball) evades the challenge of Swinton hooker Richard Hawkyard during the thrilling 31-26 play-off win at Boundary Park on Sunday. Picture by VINCENT BROWN.

Full-back is focused ahead of late surge for glory

PAUL Reilly isn’t letting the uncertainty over the club’s future have an adverse impact on his game.

The experienced former Huddersfield legend has found his best form of the season just at the right time, returning to his favoured full-back slot ready for a tilt at play-off glory.

His consistent strong running and positional nous aided the Roughyeds’ cause in the Co-operative Championship One elimination play-off victory against Swinton last week, a match in which he came in for some severely physical treatment yet bounced back time after time.

Now 33 years old and at the tail end of an in-and-out, injury-blighted year on a personal level, Reilly is fully geared up for the elimination semi-final at home to a Hunslet Hawks team marshalled on and off the field by former Giants team mate Paul March — hopefully providing the first of three consecutive play-off wins that would send the Roughyeds up.

“I know Paul March well and I am sure he will be telling his lads that they have already put one over on us and to go out and do the same again,” said Reilly, referring to the 36-18 defeat at the South Leeds Stadium on the final day of the regular season two weeks ago.

“But we are at home in the play-offs now and will have the crowd behind us. It is all about us as far as I am concerned and if we perform there is no reason why we can’t beat Hunslet as well as the two games after that.

“I think that we made it more difficult than it needed to be against Swinton but at this stage of the season, a win is a win.

“I know a couple of the Swinton lads and they were up for it.

“We made mistakes and didn’t do some of the things we wanted to. Thankfully we came out at the end with a big ‘W’ which is all you want in the play-offs.

“The main thing for us still is promotion and achieving that goal that we set for ourselves at the start of the year.

“Some things have happened at the club this year which have made the task tougher, such as the players leaving.

“But I look around at the team I have got around me and I am happy with it and I am sure Tony is too.”

The continuing uncertainty at board level has prompted fears of a wholesale player exodus at the end of the season.

With little indication as to the current plans of majority 75-per-cent shareholder Bill Quinn following the announcement that he had put his shares up for sale, no budget has been put in place for 2010.

It has meant that some players are already believed to have agreed to sign elsewhere, but Reilly is keeping his options open until Oldham’s season is finally over.

“I haven’t decided what I am doing yet,” he added.

“I have had clubs asking what my plans are but I have said to wait until I have finished the season with Oldham, hopefully having won promotion.

“I don’t want to make any decisions at the moment as I want to concentrate fully on the job in hand, 100-per-cent dedicated to the cause.

“It has been a hard year personally and also for everyone at the club.

“Now we have three games left and the aim is to finish on a high by winning them all and going up to the Championship.”