Former Super League sextet named in ambitious Championship club’s 2025 leadership group

From left to right: Matty Wildie, Jordan Turner and Josh Drinkwater all feature in Oldham's leadership group for 2025
Oldham boss Sean Long has confirmed a six-strong leadership group for 2025, with all six players chosen having a wealth of Super League experience.
The Roughyeds, who won the League 1 title in 2024 under Long’s tutelage, will return to the Championship for the first time since 2021 this year.
In preparation for their return to the second tier, Oldham have bolstered their squad heavily – and Long’s new leadership group includes four new signings in the shape of Matty Ashurst, Josh Drinkwater, Gil Dudson and Adam Milner.
LRL RECOMMENDS: 7 Super League players you forgot had short-lived stints at random clubs, including Hull KR duo
Former Super League sextet named in ambitious Championship club’s 2025 leadership group
All four players have made the drop down from full-time to a part-time environment, with Ashurst joining from Wakefield Trinity, Drinkwater and Dudson from Warrington Wolves and Milner from Huddersfield Giants.
Those four will support ex-St Helens and Castleford Tigers ace Jordan Turner, who retains the captaincy from last season, and new vice-captain Matty Wildie.
Like Turner, veteran hooker Wildie – now 34 – joined Oldham ahead of the 2024 campaign, featuring 24 times across all competitions en-route to promotion.
Between the six men elected into the Roughyeds’ leadership group for 2025, there are nigh on 1,300 appearances in Super League alone and almost 2,000 career games overall!
Head coach Long said: “JT as captain was outstanding last year and Matty Wildie will be vice-captain.
“I also have some good leaders that we have brought in from other clubs in Adam Milner, Matty Ashurst, Gil Dudson and Josh Drinkwater so you can’t really go wrong with our leadership group who speak really well and drive the standards.
“JT being Oldham born and bred is massive for the club and he wants to finish off on a high. I don’t know if this will be his last year, but I know he will be putting everything in to try to bring some silverware back to the club.
“Wildie leads by example and gives 100% in training and in games. He has high standards and that is the sign of a true leader. He doesn’t point the blame at anyone else and he just gets better. It is a good fit.
“The boys have a meeting every Tuesday and anything they want to improve on I always listen to. They come with ideas on what we need to fix, on-field and also if there are any issues off-field too. There ideas are fantastic and I lean on them quite a bit.”
LRL RECOMMENDS: Leeds Rhinos starlet Jack Sinfield makes game time admission as 2025 positional switch mooted