OLDHAM RL Club has signed Declan Gregory, a hooker with plenty of League 1 and Championship experience, who has been training at the club for a while after leaving Castleford Tigers.

Born and bred in Wigan, the 24-year-old has signed a season-long 2021 contract, effectively filling the role left vacant by the loss of broken-leg victim Matty Wilkinson.

Head coach Matt Diskin, who should know a good hooker when he sees one, has been impressed with Gregory during his time at the club.

And Roughyeds say it was always planned to sign him, irrespective of Wilkinson’s cruel luck in breaking his left leg when falling to an innocuous challenge in training.

Diskin said: “We needed three hookers and now we’ve got them – all quality.

"We’ll be without Wilky for a while and that’s a shame, so Declan will probably get his chance sooner than was envisaged.

“He’s a confident lad who backed himself when he joined us for training and he has done really well.

“He’s an experienced hooker who has brought something different to the No 9 spot and, although Wilky will be out for a while, I’m still very comfortable with what we’ve got at hooker and in our ‘middles’ (props).

“Wilky’s bad luck spotlighted exactly why we needed three hookers.

"Declan knows what he’s doing and we are confident he will take his opportunity.

“We have real depth and quality among the 9s (hookers) and the ‘middles’ (props) and Declan will fit comfortably into that group – no doubt at all.”

Chairman Chris Hamilton said: “He’s been with us for a couple of months.

"He settled in well and, even before he signed, he had become an integral part of the group.”

Growing up in Wigan, he played for St Pat’s, Orrell St James and Hindley before going back to St Pat’s for under-18s rugby, ahead of a move to Leigh Centurions reserves.

Salford Red Devils Academy came next, then Hemel Hempstead, then back to St Pat’s for open-age rugby before he signed for Rochdale Hornets.

In his season and a half at the Crown Oil Arena across 2018 and the early part of 2019 , he totalled 24 senior appearances, 18 of them in the Championship.

In the second half of 2019, he transferred to North Wales Crusaders, where he played in 10 League 1 games, including the Welsh team’s 46-30 defeat at Oldham as the Roughyeds powered their way to promotion.

His all-action performances for Crusaders caught the eye of Castleford Tigers.

He trained full time with Tigers last year, Covid-19-permitting, but his senior appearances were restricted to two pre-season games against Bradford Bulls and Widnes Vikings.

Now employed full-time in the construction industry, he believes he can build a future in the part-time pro game and he’s grateful to Oldham for giving him the chance.

“I feel sure things will work out for me at Oldham,” he said. “I just feel right there!"