Naylor gives verdict on Coventry victory

Scott Naylor spoke of his side's "first-half excellence" in his post-match media interview about Oldham's 34-18 win over Coventry Bears.

It was the Roughyeds' third win in a row since they were beaten at home by Hunslet at Easter and in those three matches they've averaged more than nine tries a game.

Naylor more or less kept the same side although he rested tackling-machine Liam Bent and pulled in Ben Calland for Phil Joy, who was given the weekend off to enjoy his eldest brother Craig's wedding.

In a positional change he gave young prop Titus Gwaze a start at loose-forward and the on-loan Wakefield Trinity man obliged by winning the champagne-moment award for an exquisite pass in the tackle which provided Dave Hewitt with the first of the Roughyeds' six tries.

Gwaze, who had only played academy rugby before coming to Oldham, said: "I thought it would be proper easy here until I played my first match.

"I'm learning a lot -- I like it here and I want to thank you for having me."

Man-of-the match Danny Langtree, who scored two tries, said: "Coventry deserve a lot of credit for the game they gave us but since we lost to Hunslet we seem to be getting better and better.

"Hopefully, we can keep that going."

Club chairman Chris Hamilton said of Langtree: "He's a top player but he's more than that; he sets an example to those around him."

Naylor said of this latest win: "I'm very pleased. In the first half we were excellent in all areas of the game.

"We were relentless in attack and defence. We made very few mistakes which enabled us to put them under a lot of pressure.

"It was that pressure which finally took its toll and enabled us to score four tries in the second quarter of the game.

"Coventry are not the team they once were. They are extremely fit, strong, well coached and very determined --- a credit, in fact, to all the club.

"They'll definitely give other teams in our  division a good run when they go down to their place. They're a credit, as a club, for how far they've come in such a relatively short space of time.

"As for us, we need to continue to play like this and to continue our momentum. If we can do that we'll be a very tough team to beat."

By Roger Halstead