Naylor hails Oldham-Giants link-up

Scott Naylor

OLDHAM and Huddersfield have again reached a partnership agreement in which the Giants of Super League and the promoted Championship new boys will work in tandem in 2016 for the mutual benefit of both clubs.

Roughyeds coach Scott Naylor (pictured) acknowledges that last season’s links with the club coached by his former Bradford Bulls team-mate Paul Anderson had a significant influence on Oldham’s double trophy-triumph in League One.

Taking all 28 cup and league games into account, Naylor used seven Huddersfield players across the memorable 2015 promotion campaign, headed by Oldham-born prop Nathan Mason, who played in 16 games on long-term loan.

The other six, some of whom are now with other clubs, were all on dual registration — a key element of the partnership process.

Jodie Broughton (one appearance in Oldham colours), Jake Connor (two), Jacob Fairbank (one), Josh Johnson (five), Micky Learmonth (two) and Oliver Roberts (eight) all contributed to a great season for the Roughyeds, who won 19 of their 22 league games; clocked up 14 wins in a row; and carried off the league leaders’ shield and the championship rose bowl.

Confirming the continuation of the Giants-Roughyeds alliance, Naylor said it was a red-letter day for Oldham ahead of their first season in tier two after nine years in League one.

He added: “Giants wanted to stay with us as much as we wanted to stick with them.

“They were happy with what we achieved last season, and the way we did it, and they appreciated that their young players were well looked after at Oldham where they benefited from playing at first-team level.

“Paul Anderson was happy with the agreement we had in place and the way it was handled and he had no qualms about extending it into next year.

“Both clubs got a lot out of it. It helped us to win promotion — no doubt about that — and the Giants lads gained a lot of experience which will hopefully benefit them as their careers progress.

“Our challenges this coming season will be many times tougher than they were last time, so it was even more important that we kept the dual-reg arrangements with Huddersfield, whose young guys will hopefully help us to make the transition to Championship rugby and help us to stay in that division.

“When and how we use dual-reg will be entirely a matter for Paul (Anderson) and me, like it was last term.

“Some weeks he might not have anybody available and other weeks he might have as many as five available to us. I then have to make decisions which I believe to be in the best interests of our team and our club.

“What we found last season was that there were different situations nearly every week, but we made it work for the benefit of both clubs.

“I’m looking forward to working with the Giants again in partnership and especially so because on the face of it we will need this arrangement even more than we did last season.”