Former Super League star Sean Long says he has shrugged off the disappointment of his exit from Featherstone and is focused on the even more ambitious task of steering Oldham back towards rugby league’s top flight.
One of the most decorated players of his generation, who won five league titles and five Challenge Cups with St Helens, Long finds himself plotting a route which will include stops in the likes of Cornwall and Colwyn Bay next season.
But the 47-year-old, whose stellar on-field success was often matched by lurid tales of his exploits off it, insisted he had lost none of his enthusiasm and was determined to restore the good times to a club that had languished in the lower reaches since they last exited Super League in 1997.
“I’ve never lost my appetite for it,” Long told the PA news agency. “I loved my time as head coach at Featherstone and when Oldham came in for me, I was over the moon. I like challenging myself and the vision for the whole club really appealed to me.”
If leading Featherstone back into the top flight appeared a near-certainty for much of last season – until they flopped in the play-offs with Long long gone – the task of resurrecting Oldham’s fortunes is a far greater one.
Having languished in League One for each of the last two seasons, a takeover backed by former player Mike Ford in October has dramatically restored the club’s expectations, heralding a return to Boundary Park and a clear and stated intention to return to the top level of the game.
For Long, who recalls playing against Oldham in his early days with Wigan, the expectation will eclipse that at Rovers, whose decision to dispense with his services in March, when they led the second tier by eight points, caused surprisingly little bad feeling.
“Anything can happen in sport – one minute you’re in a job, the next you’re not,” shrugged Long. “These things happen and I’m going to keep doing things my way.
“This club’s been in the doldrums a bit but it’s got some big long-term ambitions. We’re not counting our chickens, because things can happen in rugby league which you aren’t prepared for and my job is to keep the standards high every week.”
The extent of Oldham’s ambition was emphasised by the close-season signing of Joe Wardle, a 32-year-old with plenty of Super League experience who was playing an integral role in Leigh’s return to the top flight until his campaign was curtailed by injury in September.
For Wardle it was a surprisingly easy decision to swap Super League life for the prospect of long road trips to face the likes of Midlands Hurricanes and North Wales Crusaders and he sees a comparison in the way his former club also re-invented themselves as a successful outfit.
“I’ve been part of a rebuild club before and I’ve seen how well it can work,” said Wardle.
“When I spoke to Mike, it just fitted the bill. Everyone asks about me moving two leagues down, but I can see the vision of this club. The plan is to get back to Super League and that made it a pretty easy decision.
“It was hard to leave Leigh because I had some great times there, but I definitely see similarities. Leigh are the kind of club everyone should be aspiring to learn from. I’m here for the start of the journey with Oldham and hopefully it’s going to be a successful one.”
Darrell Clarke hails Elliot Bonds as double sends Cheltenham to victory
Darrell Clarke praised midfielder Elliot Bonds after his brace earned Cheltenham a comfortable 2-0 home win over Blackpool.
The midfielder scored the first double of his career on his 100th appearance for the club, finding the net in each half to give the Robins’ survival chances a huge lift.
“He’s taken his goals well, run up and down the pitch and defended well so it was a top all-round performance from Elliot Bonds,” Clarke said.
“He had a bit of a breather on Saturday, came back in and scored a couple, which is great.
“They have good players and if we allowed them too much possession they could have hurt us so we played two eights, with Kins (Liam Kinsella) and Bondsy ready to jump and they did that job brilliantly.
“I’d probably go as far as to say that’s our best performance since I have been at the club.”
Sean Long’s 31st-minute corner from the right fell to Bonds after a scramble and he found the net with a low left-footed finish.
George Lloyd was tripped in the box by Jordan Gabriel but Daniel Grimshaw dived low to his right to push away Aidan Keena’s well-struck spot kick in the 75th minute.
Bonds then made sure of the points five minutes from the end, beating Grimshaw after a neat turn and finish.
Blackpool boss Neil Critchley felt his side were second best on the night.
“We got what we deserved because we weren’t good enough from start to finish,” he said.
“I’ve praised the players recently for their spirit and fight but we were well off it.
“The better team won and that’s hard to take.
“That’s not a performance I’d associate with a Blackpool team while I’ve been in charge. We had a vulnerability about us all night which isn’t like us.
“The performances in the last few games have deserved more – not tonight.
“There are still games to go and I’d have said before tonight we could go on a run. Tonight makes that look less likely.
“Cheltenham thoroughly deserved their win and we respect them.”
‘Huge transfer’ for Huddersfield with Tom Burgess joining from 2025 season
Huddersfield have signed England international and former NRL winner Tom Burgess on a three-year deal from the start of the 2025 campaign.
The 31-year-old forward has made more than 200 appearances for South Sydney Rabbitohs since 2013, winning the title and featuring in his side’s World Club Challenge triumph over St Helens in 2015.
Burgess has also made 33 appearances for England, and played in their 2017 World Cup final defeat against Australia.
Burgess, who started his career with Bradford, told Huddersfield’s official website: “There is no mistake in what I want to do over in England, I want to come over there and win silverware.
“I’m not coming back to make up numbers or finish my career. I never got there with Bradford, we had a good side back in those early days, but we never pushed through into the play-offs and made a go of it.
“So that’s one thing I look for in a club, I want to get there, I want to get to those finals and bring silverware back to where it should be, the birthplace of rugby league”.
Burgess follows his brother Sam, whose role as assistant coach at South Sydney was terminated last year and subsequently took on his first head coach role at Super League rivals Warrington.
Huddersfield struggled in last season’s Super League, finishing ninth, and Burgess’ impending arrival will be seen as a significant and long-term statement of intent.
The Giants have already made seven new signings for the 2024 season, which begins later this month, including three players – Adam Clune, Jack Murchie and Thomas Deakin – from Australia.
Huddersfield head coach Ian Watson said: “This is a huge transfer, not just for the Giants, but for Super League and the game in general.
“With the stature of Thomas and what he’s achieved in his career to be consistently one of the best front-rowers within the game, we’re absolutely delighted for him to become a Giant in 2025.”
Super League games to be shown live on BBC for first time this season
Live Super League games will be shown on the BBC for the first time as part of a three-year deal struck between the broadcaster and Rugby League Commercial.
The BBC will show a total of 15 live games during the 2024 campaign – starting with Wigan’s trip to Castleford on February 17 – and the World Club Challenge between Wigan and Penrith the following week, both of which will be on BBC Two.
RL Commercial’s managing director Rhodri Jones said: “This is a landmark agreement for Rugby League. Securing live free-to-air coverage on the BBC for the Super League competition as part of this reimagined partnership, means there will be more visibility than ever before.”
The BBC will also continue to broadcast at least one Challenge Cup match from each round, culminating in the Wembley final on June 8, along with games in the women’s and wheelchair competitions.
The deal effectively replaces the previous two-year deal with Channel 4, which expired at the end of last season.
Sky Sports extended and expanded its own deal with Super League in October, which will see every match covered live via a combination of Sky Sports channels and the company’s new streaming platform, Super League Plus.
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