Rigby set to miss Rochdale clash

Swinton Lions prop Neil Rigby will miss Friday’s clash with Rochdale Hornets after his recent ankle injury flared up following his return to action against Gateshead.

Rochdale coach John Stankevitch is set to include Steve Roper and Dale Bloomfield, while Damien Reid also has an outside chance of playing.

Stankevitch said: “Damien came to training on Monday, and looks in good shape. You only have to look at what he offers when he has played to see that he bring a lot of positives to the team. He’s a chance for Friday.”

Stankevitch has also received good news on the fitness of Dean Gorton and Phil Wood. The pair are both expected to be fully fit for Rochdale’s last five fixtures of the season, with Wood in particular making rapid progress in his bid to get back to full fitness.

On Swinton, Stankevitch said: “They’re pretty impressive this year, but that’s not surprising.

“Steve McCormack has had success wherever he’s been a head coach, and they’ve been able to assemble a very good squad.

“They’re doing really well, but they’ve scraped some results recently and Steve’s said that they’ve not been playing fantastic rugby, so we’re confident we can go there and get a positive result.”

Dual-registered prop Mike Stewart is a fortnight away from a return to first team action.