Naylor’s tactical nous pays off handsomely

DIVING IN . . . Kenny Hughes crashes over the Featherstone line. PICTURES by PAUL STERRITT

YOU’VE go to hand it to Oldham coach Scott Naylor. He was a tough nut as a player and he hasn’t changed now he’s the boss, as underlined by the side he sent out to do battle with Featherstone Rovers.

Unafraid to make brave decisions in the short term with a view to long-term gain, he rested hitherto ever-present prop Phil Joy, chose hooker Gareth Owen at half-back and used three dual-reg youngsters from Huddersfield Giants, including debut-making Kruise Leeming, in the middle of the front-row.

The spine of any rugby league team in the modern game is the combination of full-back, half-backs and hooker, so to start with a new boy at hooker and a hooker at left-side half-back raised a few eyebrows among the fans, that’s for sure.

Featherstone unleashed two of the most experienced props in the Championship in Darrell Griffin and Andy Bostock, while Oldham’s starting front-row comprised of Jack Spencer, 20-year-old Leeming and 19-year-old Tyler Dickinson, who had his best game yet in Roughyeds colours on a day when the two sets of forwards fought out a ferocious battle for supremacy from start to finish.

It would be a gross exaggeration to suggest the story of this magnificent 16-14 Oldham triumph could be titled “Kruise Control”, but the kid from Swaziland gave an impressive performance, nevertheless, highlighted by a first-half 40-20 and then the key role he played in setting up the winning try for the “baby” of the Giants trio, 18-year-old Liam Johnson, a back-row forward playing at centre.

RATTLE

Johnson’s handling was dodgy early on, but he settled down to rattle the Rovers defence with his strength and deceptive speed, setting up the only try of the first half for Kenny Hughes and then bringing the house down with the winning score in the corner six minutes from the end of a thriller.

Well though the young Giants performed, however, Oldham’s outstanding individual in a totally committed 17-man team performance was the diminutive Owen, socks round his ankles, going down with cramp two or three times in the second half, but a midfield gem who handled his switch from hooker to half with total aplomb, confidence and self-belief.

His biggest and best moment came early in the second half. Rovers had pulled level at 6-6 and looked to be getting on top when local lad Owen bamboozled the first line of defence near half way with some nifty footwork, went clear, kept his composure as the cover closed in and then stroked an angled left-foot grubber to the Rovers line for Holmes to follow up and touch down.

It was a defining moment in a third consecutive Oldham win at Bower Fold and a fourth in five overall, including the Challenge Cup special at Hull KR.

Naylor’s men have proved conclusively now that they can hold their own in this division with performances that are built on teamwork, solid and collective graft from first minute to 80th and a never-say-die spirit that is starting to capture the admiration of fans.

Rovers, who had full-back Ian Hardman sin-binned for a professional foul shortly before Hughes opened the scoring, came out for the second half and threw everything at the home side.

Jack Ormondroyd’s clean break up the middle ­— the only bust in the game ­— set up Hardman’s try, which Jamie Foster goaled to level the scores.

Roughyeds replied with the Holmes try and a
Lewis Palfrey penalty, but Rovers wouldn’t go away. They drew level at 12-12 with a Misi Taulapapa try, improved by Foster, and then sneaked ahead for the first time at 14-12 when Owen, perhaps questionably, was given offside when chasing and dropping on a loose ball.

RESTART

With eight minutes left Oldham had a lot to do, but they won the ball back from the short restart. Owen’s last-tackle kick to the corner won an Oldham scrum and Leeming went blind from the back of the pack to send Johnson crashing over through a defence that was in total disarray.