Oldham head coach Scott Naylor expressed his disappointment in losing George Tyson and Adam Neal, but said they leave with his best wishes.
The duo both completed moves to Sheffield on Monday after playing influential roles in Oldham’s promotion to the Kingstone Press Championship, and although Roughyeds will now compete at the same level as the Eagles, the opportunity to go full-time in South Yorkshire proved too good to turn down.
“We tried everything that we could to keep them,” said Naylor
“But Sheffield are going full-time next season and the lure of full-time Rugby League and being in that environment was too enticing for them both. We couldn’t match what Sheffield had offered them.
“In the same breath I’d like to wish the lads luck. They’ve got a chance to further their careers training full-time and being able to work with Mark Aston. As much as I didn’t want to lose them a part of me is pleased for them and I hope they do well.”
Sheffield chief Aston was quick to thank Naylor and Oldham for their efforts in making the process a smooth transition, and Naylor told TotalRL.com of his admiration for his long-term friend.
“I’ve known Mark for a long time and he’s done an amazing job with Sheffield. It’s a good club to go to and when I found out that the two lads had the opportunity to go to Sheffield, if I was going to lose them I was happy for it to be to Sheffield.”
“It’s going to be very difficult to replace them both. They were two of the main reasons that we got promoted. They played in a great team all year but the two of them contributed to that massively. They were two players we brought in at the start of the season and we knew what they were capable of. They were of the quality we needed to get promoted but now we’ve got to wish them all the best and look forward.”
