OLDHAM have been busy in the loan market over the past week, securing two new players from Super League clubs and extending the deals of two others.
Wigan Warriors youngsters Logan Astley and Tom Forber, a halfback and hooker respectively, had their loan deals extended after playing the past two matches for Oldham.
They have now been joined by another two teenage prospects with Dane Windrow arriving from Wakefield Trinity, and Connor Carr from Huddersfield Giants.
Back-row Windrow, who made two appearances on loan at Dewsbury Rams last season, has joined for an initial two-month period.
Outside back Carr has signed for at least a month, having started the year on loan at Batley Bulldogs where he played one competitive game.
“Dane Windrow is a big, aggressive boy who will give us strike power on the edges,” explained Oldham head coach Stuart Littler.
“Connor Carr can cover both centre and wing where Calvin Wellington has been struggling with illness and Tommy Brierley is out for the season injured.
“Connor has been out on loan at Batley Bulldogs, but we’ve done our homework and it’s all been good.
“He played at Huddersfield in the same team as Sean Slater, for instance, and Sean speaks well of him. So, too, does Luke Robinson, whom I know well, over at Huddersfield.
“We’ll keep tweaking things when we think there is a need to and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the people at Wakefield, Huddersfield and Batley for helping us to complete the loans.”
On further additions, Littler added: “We are always on the look-out for players but they’ve got to be cost effective and we’ve got to keep an eye on the budget.”
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Ben Howe was delighted to feature for DONCASTER for the first time this season and make a strong impact.
The 21-year-old joined the club ahead of the 2020 season but only made four appearances in his first two years.
Howe, mostly a halfback, was called up to the Dons team at fullback for their recent home win over Cornwall, and he impressed with a try and was named as the gamestar by League Express.
“I was buzzing to be back out there, I’ve been itching to play so to get a try and the win was great,” said Howe, who used to be on the books of Castleford Tigers.
“All I can do is keep working hard and take my chances in the team when they come along.”
Howe’s form, and the loan signing of young halfback Kobe Poching from Wakefield Trinity, will help soften the blow of losing Ben Johnston to a five-match ban.
Johnston was given the suspension for a Grade D charge of questioning the integrity of a match official in Doncaster’s defeat to Swinton Lions earlier this month, and won’t be available again until June.
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HUNSLET head coach Alan Kilshaw expects good things from Jacob Doyle after bringing the youngster in on loan from Featherstone Rovers.
Utility back Doyle, who has joined on an initial one-month deal, memorably scored two tries at Wembley for Rovers in their 1895 Cup final victory over York City Knights last season.
Kilshaw believes Doyle will not only provide valuable cover, but bring some of the culture of the Championship high-flyers with him as well.
“We are delighted to give another young player an opportunity to represent Hunslet,” said Kilshaw.
“We are a little bit skinny in terms of our depth in the outside backs. With winger Kiedan Hartley suspended, we wanted to bring in someone with quality who can enhance us in that department.
“Jacob can play wing, fullback or centre, which is invaluable for us. He is coming from a side that is in top from and which is really well coached, so I’m expecting him to bring that intensity to us in games and in training.”
Meanwhile, back-row Rowland Kaye has left Hunslet for personal reasons.
The 22-year-old Welshman signed from West Wales Raiders ahead of this season but only made one appearance.
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NORTH WALES CRUSADERS head coach Anthony Murray says his team won’t suffer from vertigo having climbed to the top of the League One table.
Four wins from four meant the Crusaders have spent the past week clear of the rest of the division heading into yesterday’s home clash with Midlands Hurricanes.
That run to start the season has included highly impressive away victories at both Rochdale Hornets and Swinton Lions, and followed a charge to the fifth round of the Challenge Cup where they were the last third-tier side standing.
However, Murray is keen to keep his players’ feet firmly on the ground and is well aware that the season will be a marathon rather than a sprint.
“We don’t make crazy suggestions of us doing this or doing that,” said Murray.
“We just take each game as it comes. I’ve always done that and we’ll carry on doing that. We won’t get carried away.
“The league isn’t won over a few games and we need to be consistent. We need to keep backing up performances and keep looking for improvement.”
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CORNWALL’S results in the early weeks of the season may not have been exceptional but Neil Kelly believes they are heading in the right direction.
The experienced boss oversaw three defeats in the new club’s first set of games, heading into yesterday’s clash at Oldham.
Defeats to North Wales Crusaders and Midlands Hurricanes were followed by a 52-16 loss away at Doncaster, but head coach Kelly saw signs of “a significant move forward” in South Yorkshire.
“We have matched Doncaster in 75 to 80 per cent of the game but we are paying a big price for individual errors,” he said.
“I’m not a silly coach but at this stage, I don’t think it’s relevant or perhaps necessary to be looking at games from a win or lose situation.
“I am looking at performances and on that performance we got about 80 per cent right.
“Hopefully in the weeks and months to come as we progress and get better, then we will be looking at ever increasing finer margins when analysing our performances.”
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KEIGHLEY COUGARS head coach Rhys Lovegrove took great encouragement from their last-gasp win at Hunslet.
The Cougars went into yesterday’s clash with Swinton Lions with three wins from three to open the campaign.
After two comfortable successes, the one at Hunslet was a nail-biter with Mo Agoro’s last-minute (and controversial, with strong suspicions of a forward pass) try snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.
Even though that win wasn’t as convincing as the ones that preceded it, Lovegrove believes there was one very positive sign.
“It certainly wasn’t a classic but they are games that, since I’ve been here, the team haven’t won,” he said.
“Historically we’ve competed in them but we’ve drawn or we’ve lost.
“So I think that’s the best win this year, even though it certainly wasn’t our best performance, nowhere near it.”
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LONDON SKOLARS offered free entry to serving military personnel for their home game against Rochdale Hornets on Saturday, as well as an offer for Antipodean fans.
The move was to honour Anzac Day on Monday, when Australians and New Zealanders remember those who have fought in conflicts.
Serving personnel in uniform gained free entry to the game at the New River Stadium, while Aussies and Kiwis could take advantage of two-for-one entry.
Skolars face a tough month with the trip to Keighley Cougars this Sunday followed by Swinton Lions away, before Hunslet and Oldham visit the capital.
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MIDLANDS HURRICANES boss Richard Squires has praised young hooker Elliott Windley for emerging as a key figure in the team this year.
After starting the season with consecutive defeats, Midlands secured back-to-back wins over Cornwall and London Skolars – scoring a cumulative 110 points – to get their season up and running.
Five-foot-five Windley, a 22-year-old in his second season at the former Coventry Bears having previously been on the books of clubs including Hull FC and Warrington Wolves as a junior, played a big role in both wins.
“He’s flying at the moment; you saw little bits of it last year but he’s really coming into his own now,” said Squires of his number nine.
“He can do bigger minutes. The last couple of weeks we’ve had Tom Blakey coming off the bench which has allowed us to spare Elliott a little bit more, so we can have two good stints of him playing thick and fast.”
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ROCHDALE HORNETS chairman Andy Mazey says the club are looking forward to a Bank Holiday in Cornwall.
Matt Calland’s side take on the newly-formed Choughs this Sunday, in the middle of a three-day weekend.
They will spend at least one night in the Duchy and are weighing up making it two to have a little more time in Rugby League’s newest destination after the important business of battling for two points on the pitch.
“It’s something different for the lads,” said Mazey. “I think they are looking forward to it, I know Matt is looking forward to it.
“It’s the Bank Holiday weekend so the fans that are going down will be staying and making a weekend of it.
“It’ll be broken up, we’ll stay over down there. Hopefully we can have an enjoyable experience in Cornwall.
“We’ll travel down, stay over and then come back, but I think we’re also looking at the option of an additional night. At the moment we’re just doing the one night but that may turn into two.
“Obviously there’s a cost to all this which has to be justified but we’re keen to do the right thing by the players and give them the easiest possible solution.”
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SWINTON LIONS have boosted their squad with the arrival of Kieran Rush on loan from Huddersfield Giants.
The 19-year-old halfback or hooker is yet to make his professional debut and is making his first loan move from the Super League side, where he came through the Academy.
“It’s great to be able to welcome Kieran to Swinton,” said Lions head coach Allan Coleman, whose team are the only in the division to have a blank weekend coming up.
“We’ve kept contact with Huddersfield over recent weeks, and I’d like to thank Giants’ head coach Ian Watson, and CEO Andy Kelly, for their support which has enabled this agreement to take place.”
Rush, who signed his first professional contract with the Giants last autumn, said: “I’m really happy to be at Swinton Lions, and I can’t wait to get some game time and show what I can do.”
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WEST WALES RAIDERS have signed Josh Slingsby and Keenan Dyer-Dixon from fellow League One side Keighley Cougars on two-week loans.
Neither have played a competitive game for Keighley this season, with winger Slingsby playing ten times last season and fullback or winger Dyer-Dixon yet to debut after joining the West Yorkshire side in the off-season.
Both will get an opportunity to play with the struggling Raiders, who travel to North Wales Crusaders this Sunday to compete for the Celtic Shield as well as league points.
Keighley’s head of rugby Andrew Henderson said of the moves: “This is a great opportunity for both Josh and Keenan to get some much needed game time and showcase their talents in this competition.
“I would like to say a big thanks to West Wales Raiders head coach Ash Bateman for giving our players the chance to play for his team.
“We hope both Josh and Keenan will represent our club well and add some value to the Raiders during their time there.”
West Wales’ home match against Doncaster on Saturday was cancelled because the club were unable to secure a doctor for the fixture, with a 48-0 win being awarded to Doncaster.
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