OLDHAM coach Alan Kilshaw admits that their bye weekend may have come at a good time ahead of Saturday’s Challenge Cup tie against Catalans Dragons.
Following on from their 40-20 victory over Midlands Hurricanes, the Roughyeds enjoyed the luxury of a weekend free from action before heading to the South of France for the fourth-round clash in Perpignan.
While a break in momentum is not always the preferred option for coaches, Kilshaw knows it could be beneficial in this case, not least because it has given him more time to make some key decisions about his squad.
“I did feel that the bye before the Widnes game didn’t help us because we were lacking a bit of momentum in games,” admitted Kilshaw.
“But we’ll be going into Catalans and then it’s Sheffield, Hunslet, Rochdale and Halifax, so we have a real good run of games coming up.
“It (the weekend off) will help, as it will be a shorter week for us because we travel out on Friday. So after the Midlands game we can have four real quality sessions before we go and get that quality into the players to prepare for Catalans the best we can.
“Ryan Lannon and Ben O’Keefe have come through all their checks so they’re back in full training this week and Jack Walker is back available too, so we’ve got some tough decisions to make.”
While Oldham have some names back in contention, one player Kilshaw will not be able to recall is Brad Day.
The recent new recruit missed the Midlands game after a failed HIA, and although he has now satisfied the concussion protocol, he is now cup-tied after having played for the Panthers in their 18-14 defeat to Goole Vikings in the last round.