Old hostilities resume as teams prepare for season

SWINTON and Oldham will renew their rivalry with a pre-season friendly at Heywood Road on Sunday, January 27.

It will be the first meeting of the two sides since the Lions prevailed 29-6 in September 2017, a result that effectively relegated Roughyeds.

The clash will be Oldham’s second warm-up fixture, a fortnight after travelling to Barrow.

Swinton’s first pre-season friendly will be against Salford on January 12 and the club intends to add another match in between as Stuart Littler’s side prepare for the trip to Sheffield Eagles in the first round of the Betfred Championship on February 3.

“All the Swinton boys, and especially coach Stuart Littler, deserve a lot of credit for managing to stay up,” said Roughyeds boss Scott Naylor.

“Having already been to Barrow, we’ll be glad to be closer to home in this one, but the Lions will be ready for us, you can be sure of that.

“We’ll be going over there to play some good rugby and hopefully to get out of it what we want to get out of it.

“That’s what these pre-season games are all about and this one will be no different. It’s an important game because you would say Swinton are our second closest rivals after Rochdale.”

Meanwhile, Leigh Centurions have announced they will incorporate the town’s crest on its 2019 playing shirts. The club has a host of signings, including new coach John Duffy, returning hero Martyn Ridyard and Iain Thornley.