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JAMES COYLE
Oldham believe they have one of the most talented and gifted scrum-halves outside Super League in James Coyle, who will be 22 by the time Roughyeds embark on their pre-season friendlies in the build-up to the 2008 campaign. They had to beat off a lot of competition to acquire his services initially in the summer of 2007 and the young Wiganer went on to show why he was so highly rated by forming an accomplished half-back combination with Neil Roden.  His 14 appearances yielded six tries, but it was the vast number of touchdowns he created that underlined his potential and saw coach Steve Deakin and the board move quickly at the end of the season to take up their option to re-sign James for 2008. To get him in the first place they had had to compete with NL1 clubs Whitehaven, Leigh and Batley, plus NL2 rivals Swinton Lions. He had clearly built himself a reputation as one of the shooting stars of Wigan's academy teams, confirmed when he stepped up to Super League and underwritten when he went out on loan to Widnes Vikings where, in 2006, he played in every game except the NL1 Grand Final. His father and grandfather before him both played as halfbacks for their hometown club, Wigan, and it was no surprise when third-generation James also signed for the Warriors. Born and reared in Wigan, he was a product of that famous amateur club, Wigan St Pat's, and his quality was recognised in 2001 when he was picked for the North-West Counties under-16s tour of Fiji, New Zealand and Australia alongside several others who have also gone on to higher things, such as James Roby, Ian Hardman and Harrison Hansen. Returning from that tour he quickly began to make a name for himself as a star of Wigan's junior academy side, ultimately rising to senior academy status and then earning academy international honours. At the end of the 2006 season he rejected a full-time contract at Widnes and returned to Wigan, but he was looking for part-time rugby after landing a job at BNFL in Warrington and that was when Oldham got the tip-off and stepped in to sign him. |
