Former Super League hooker Matty Wildie has inked a contract extension with ambitious Championship outfit Oldham for 2026.
Wildie, who will turn 35 in October, has featured 36 times across all competitions for the Roughyeds to date having joined them ahead of the 2024 campaign.
The veteran is vice-captain at Boundary Park, and enjoyed a starring role last term as Sean Long‘s side gained promotion as League 1 champions.
An elbow injury earlier this year saw him require surgery and halted his progress in the Championship, but now back fit, he has put pen to paper on his new deal.
Veteran former Super League hooker pens new Championship deal as leadership qualities lauded
Wildie’s first senior appearance came for hometown club Wakefield Trinity, lining up in the halves against Huddersfield Giants back in August 2010.
15 years on, he now has 292 first-team appearances to his name having donned a shirt for Batley Bulldogs, Doncaster, Dewsbury Rams, Featherstone Rovers, Bradford Bulls and Leigh as well as both Trinity and Oldham.
After signing on the dotted line for 2026, he said: “I’m delighted to get it over the line and be here for an extra year.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time here so far. The position the club has come from when I first came here to where we are now is massive, so I am looking forward to being part of another year.
“I believe in what the club is doing. We are making massive strides and I feel really at home with the lads and the coaching staff.”
“I have been at clubs who have been up there to start with and this has been a bit of a different journey. It is one I have really enjoyed and to see the progression the club is making is really pleasing.
“If we can do our bit on the field and help with that then we will continue to do so and strive to get better.
“I play to win and winning is a big ambition. You want to play at the highest level possible for as long as your body will let you do that.
“We will be pushing to play as high as we can and we need to finish strong this year. We have our own goals for this year and we will strive to achieve that.”
“We have plenty of leaders in the team and I get a lot of help from them, so I am not just on my own. JT (Jordan Turner) has been a massive help for me and learning from the kind of leader he is and also Drinky (Josh Drinkwater).”
‘He has been a brilliant servant to rugby league and I hope he has more exciting chapters in his career still to come’
Head coach Long had previously worked with Wildie, whose career appearance tally includes just over 50 games at Super League level, at Featherstone.
He named the hooker Oldham’s Coaches’ Player of the Year at the end of their 2024 League 1 title-winning campaign.
With Wildie’s future now secured, Long said: “Matty is a class act and a key part of our leadership group, so I am really pleased to keep him here for another year.
“We missed him during his injury this year and his game management really sets the tone for our team.
“He has been a brilliant servant to rugby league and I hope he has more exciting chapters in his career still to come.”
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