Skipper Palfrey in call for cool heads

SWITCHED ON: Oldham captain Lewis Palfrey says his side need to be ready to compete fully at Oxford.

Promotion-seeking Oldham RLFC could be looking at the team’s most momentous 72 hours since the club was formed in 1997.

A win at Oxford tomorrow in the last game of the season would extend the Roughyeds’ winning streak to 13 games and clinch a top-place finish for the first time in 18 seasons. RFL officials will be at Iffley Road with the shield and if Scott Naylor’s men win or draw there will be a presentation after the game.

Club captain Lewis Palfrey will lift the trophy to crown a magnificent league campaign by a squad that, pre-season, was written off as no more than mid-table material.

And on Monday night Roughyeds should be looking at more accolades in the end of season League One awards. Naylor must be in with a great chance of lifting the coach of the year award, then Palfrey, George Tyson and Swinton’s Richie Hawkyard and Andy Ackers go head to head for the player-of-the-year award.

It has been a whirlwind few days for Palfrey, the division’s leading goalkicker and top points scorer.

Like any good captain he is calling for cool heads and a sense of reality over tomorrow’s trip to Oxford.

“We've got to be careful we don’t get ahead of ourselves and start to focus too soon on the promotion game at Whitebank next week,” he said. “It will be a tough game at Oxford, let’s not forget that.

“We’ve spoken about this as a group. We know we need to be fully switched-on and ready for a

competitive game.”

“Oxford’s players will want to put down a marker for next season and they’ll no doubt be playing for new contracts. They’ll be out to spoil our trophy presentation.”

With Adam Neal and Sam Gee banned and Danny Langtree to be rested, Naylor will consider the claims of his full squad which, in addition to those who played against Swinton, consists of Richard Joy, Tom Dempsey, Tom Ashton and David Hewitt.