Rugby League: Oldham land Coventry centre

Conventry Bears centre Matt Reid, 6ft 4in and 16st, has joined Oldham on a one-year deal to become the Roughyeds' sixth new recruit of the close season.

Formerly with North Wales Crusaders, 25-year-old Reid is a PE teacher in Warrington, where he was reared on rugby league with Latchford Albion.

Warrington born, he still lives there and he can't wait to be playing "just down the road at Oldham", having spent the last five years commuting to Wrexham and Coventry.

Roughyeds' boss Scott Naylor said: "Matt comes highly recommended. I got a phone call singing his praises. We then spoke to a few people and did our homework.

He said: "We got good vibes from every person we spoke to. He had a big season at Coventry this year. He played in a few positions but we see him primarily as a centre, which is his favourite position anyway.

"Specialised centre play is dying in the modern game. There are not a lot of them around, so it's good to come across a young lad who has played a lot in that position and is keen to learn as much about centre play as he can.

"Coming to Oldham will be a step-up for him. We will teach him everything we possibly can and strive to make him a quality lad."

Chairman Chris Hamilton added: "He has a lot of potential and we think we can develop him. He has shown a lot of commitment and a lot of determination to travel to Coventry for the past two seasons.

"He sees his move to Oldham as a jump in the right direction in his efforts to move up in the sport."

Reid temporarily left rugby league at the age of 16 when he moved from Latchford Albion to Lymm RUFC for two years before signing for Crusaders.

He played around 30 games for the Welsh side, including several in the Championship in 2014, and then went to Coventry.

Reid said: "I can't wait to get cracking. I don't know any of the Oldham lads so it will be a real fresh start."

He will not be alone in the new boys' corner where he will be joining Paul Crook, Luke Nelmes, Danny Rasool, Tyran Johnson and Dave Eccleston.