Oldham bring back experienced forward

Steven Hughes

Oldham have brought forward Tom Spencer to the club for the 2022 season.

Spencer joins the club from Leigh Centurions, where he made 74 appearances over seven years for the club in two separate spells.

In the middle of those two spells, the 30-year-old joined London Broncos, where he would help the Broncos to win promotion to the Super League. He came off the bench as London beat Toronto Wolfpack 4-2 to Canada to seal the deal.

In 2021, Spencer spent time out on loan at Swinton Lions and Newcastle Thunder.  He played against Oldham for both teams.

For Swinton, he was sent off as the Lions went down to a 28-20 defeat. Meanwhile, Newcastle claimed a 34-28 win at Bower Fold.

He also played for Oldham on loan back in 2016. Spencer made three appearances for the club.

Spencer planning for life after rugby

Talking to the club website, Spencer said: “Everything slotted into place. I was looking for a part-time opportunity with a good club. Not only is Oldham a good club, but I was with Stuart (Littler) at Leigh and at Swinton and I’m excited to be part of what he is trying to achieve at Oldham.

“He’s hoping to rebuild Oldham with a new squad and I’m really looking forward to that and imparting a lot of my experience on the younger lads.

“It’s a new journey for me and at this stage of my career I couldn’t have had a better move. I’m back at university to finish my sports science degree which I started when I was 18.

“Rugby came first back then so when I went to Wigan full-time I had to give up on the degree. Now, I’m back at UCLAN in Preston so rugby has to be part-time and I couldn’t have come to a better part-time club than Oldham.

“I’m looking to qualify for a decent job when I have to hang up my boots, but I’ve a season or two left in me yet and the challenge at Oldham is very different to anything I’ve been involved in before.”

Head Coach Stuart Littler added:“Tom has loads of experience in the Championship, mainly at Leigh and London Broncos, and he’ll add a lot of know-how to the pack.

“He knows how I want to play the game and he is really enthusiastic about what we are trying to do at Oldham. He’s coming for the right reasons. like all the other lads, and he also has a point to prove.”