Naylor wants Roughyeds at best for Town

Oldham coach Scott Naylor is wary of the threat posed by a boosted Workington Town team this weekend.

Town beat their Cumbrian rivals Whitehaven 30-28 last time out, which will have given them new impetus, according to Naylor, whose team lost at Bradford last weekend.

“They’ve struck good form at the right time, so we’ll have to be at our best to beat them [Workington],” said Naylor.

“[Phil Joy and [Liam] Thompson were rested at Bradford, but they will be back in contention this week.”

Oldham’s back row options could be boosted by the return of Gary Middlehurst, whose broken finger looks to have healed enough for him to play.

Hooker Lewis Foster could also be available after being absent with a hamstring problem, while Jack Spencer and Gareth Owen could also be in contention.

Workington, meanwhile, are still stuck at the bottom of the Championship table, despite that exciting win over Whitehaven last weekend.

Coach Phil Veivers feels that the his team have been galvanised by that victory, though, and he expects more improvement during the rest of the season.

“The boys put in a good first half which really set the platform for the second. It’s two on the bounce now so the players feel pretty confident,” he said.

“We spoke about wanting to get these last three wins of the season before we went into the 8s to give us a chance of getting ourselves out of the mire.”

Prop Kris Coward could return for Town after recovering from a knee injury.