Ward leaves Naylor with a headache

SAMMY GEE . . . Excelled at full-back.

JARROD Ward’s departure has left Scott Naylor with an unexpected selection poser for Sunday’s visit of North Wales Crusaders to Whitebank.

Having played in every game bar one since joining Oldham, the 21-year-old left-winger will leave big shoes to fill, especially as Tom Ashton is a long-term injury victim and George Tyson is still suspended.

Full-back Steven Nield, who has played much of his career on the wing, is a major doubt with a knee injury, so Naylor will find his back-division resources stretched.

Ward is leaving town for a new life on the French Riviera in Cannes, managing a £65m holiday villa.

“It was an offer impossible to turn down,” said the player.

He added: “I found Oldham to be a great club and if the opportunity ever arose to come back I wouldn’t

hesitate. I’m sorry to be going, in many ways, but I’ve got to think of the future.

“As far as rugby is concerned, I’m only 21, so who knows what the future will bring. I’ll certainly be keeping myself fit while I’m out there.

“I’ll be flying to Cannes and back a few times in the next six weeks while everything is getting sorted out so I might get to Whitebank to watch a couple of games. I can’t commit myself to rugby any longer though. The only fair thing to do was to make a clean break.”

If Nield is ruled out, the only outside backs available to Naylor will be Adam Clay, Jack Holmes, Tom Dempsey and Jon Ford plus Sammy Gee, a forward who has successfully filled-in at centre several times. Another forward-to-back switch that worked well last week was the use of dual-reg Oliver Roberts in the centre, when Gee went to full-back.

Josh Johnson, another young forward from the Giants, is available again after suspension, so that might free Roberts for the backs.

Alternatively Naylor could go for Holmes or Dempsey at full-back, keeping Gee in the centre - though to play 18-year-old Dempsey against the title favourites might be too much pressure.

Said Naylor: “We’ve got what we’ve got, so we’ve just got to get on with it.”

Crusaders are going for their sixth win in a row; Roughyeds are defending an unbeaten league record at Whitebank stretching back more than two years.

It all points to a cracker.