Salford Red Devils are delighted to announce the signing of Gavin Bennion from Championship side Rochdale Hornets.
The 23-year-old joins the Red Devils after a successful season with the Hornets which saw him become a regular in the first team helping Rochdale to Championship survival.
Hornets Coach Alan Kilshaw took Bennion to the Crown Oil Arena at the beginning of the 2017 season Where he became a pivotal forward for Rochdale.
Bennion enjoyed loan spells with Swinton Lions and Featherstone Rovers before signing for Halifax in 2016 from Warrington. The Red Devils newest acquisition has also played for Intrust Super Cup side Mackay Cutters in Australia.
Head Coach Ian Watson said: “Through our good relationship with Alan Kilshaw, we’ve been keeping tabs on Gavin throughout the 2017 season and he’s put in some massively impressive performances for Rochdale.
“He’s a young, hungry forward with a great work ethic and excellent attitude and we believe he can grow into a quality Super League player.
“I first came across Gavin at Warrington where he showed plenty of potential. Gavin then choose to go across to Australia to help with his rugby education where he was selected for the Queensland residents team.
“Gavin has shown his development this year while working with Alan at Rochdale and hopefully he can continue that here at Salford Red Devils. I’m excited to work with him next season and I feel he’ll prove to be a good signing for Salford.”
Red Devils CEO Ian Blease said: “Gavin is the first of a few signings we’re hoping to announce in the coming weeks and months.
“We feel he’ll be a great addition to the squad, and under Coach Watson’s guidance I’m expecting Gavin to challenge for a first team position at the start of the new season.
“Gavin is the first of a new batch of Red Devils who we feel can help continue our growth on the field in 2018.”
Season Tickets are on sale for the 2018 season and are available from the Club Ticket Office, over the phone or online here. All the price details are here and a breakdown of Direct Debit payments available as part of the ‘early bird’ deal are here.
Tag: Transfer
Olsi Krasniqi to leave Red Devils at end of the season
The Salford Red Devils can confirm that forward Olsi Krasniqi will leave the club at the end of the 2017 season.
The Albanian-born forward joined Salford back in 2015 from Championship side London Broncos. Krasniqi, who was brought up in London, spent four years with the Broncos as well as enjoying stints on dual-registration with London Skolars.
Since arriving at the The Salford Stadium Krasniqi has been a regular feature in the Salford first team playing in a range of positions.
Krasniqi said on his Instagram: “A few weeks ago I made the decision to leave the club. The two and a half years I’ve been here have been the most enjoyable of my career to date which made leaving even harder. Thanks to all the fans for making me feel so welcome since the day I got here! And most importantly to all the lads I’ve played alongside, it’s been an absolute pleasure to share the field with some great blokes. I hope we finish what’s been a rollercoaster of a season on a good note and wish everyone all the best for next season.”
Red Devils Head Coach Ian Watson said: “Olsi has been a great player for us and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed coaching him. You certainly can’t question Olsi’s commitment to the cause – he’s somebody you know will go out there and give 100%, put his body on the line and wear the shirt with pride.
“I, along with everyone at the Salford, would like to wish Olsi all the best for the future,” Watson added.
Krasniqi could still feature in the Red Devils final three Super 8s games of the season against Huddersfield, Leeds and St Helens.
