SALFORD RED DEVILS {2021}

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...SALFORD SIGN SITA AKAUOLA...

As recruitment continues for 2022 and onwards, Salford Red Devils are delighted to announce the signing of Sitaleki Akauola on a two-year deal.

Prop Akauola arrives from fellow Betfred Super League side Warrington Wolves, who with he won the Betfred Challenge Cup in 2019.

The 29-year-old, who has represented his country Tonga at international level, started his professional rugby league career in the NRL for West Tigers and then Penrith Panthers, before moving to the UK in 2019 to sign for the Wire in 2019.

Speaking on signing for Salford, Akauola said: “I’m really looking forward to playing for Salford, it’s a club with passion and ambition.

“It’ll be great to be playing in front of that Salford faithful, who I know are a massive part of Salford Red Devils.”

Director of rugby and operations Ian Blease added: “Sita wanted to come to Salford to show what a quality player he really is and he is a fantastic acquisition for the Club, as we look to challenge at the top of Super League again.

“He adds size, strength, athleticism and versatility to the pack and I look forward to seeing him rip it up in a Salford shirt.”

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Following the initial announcement of an upcoming Fans Forum event on 4th November, Salford Red Devils can now confirm that this will take place on Tuesday 9th November instead, in the City Suite of the AJ Bell Stadium.

Doors will open at 6:30pm for the event, with entry on a first come first served basis, and will commence at 7pm, finishing at 9pm.

The Fans Forum is free to attend and is to provide a further update on circumstances surrounding the recently reported “stadium swap” agreement.

We are currently actively engaged in positive discussions with all parties in the reported ‘stadium swap’ agreement, and we continue to strive towards the best possible outcome for Salford Red Devils. The conversations continue to develop at pace, however the Club recognises the need to conduct a considered evaluation of any alternative options to our tenancy at the AJ Bell Stadium, which is still contracted until the end of 2023.

We would like to also take this opportunity to reassure fans once more that Salford Red Devils will be playing at the AJ Bell Stadium for the 2022 season.

The event will kick off with a commercial update from our commercial director George Harborne before Club director Paul Trainor will update fans on our school partnerships and player pathway scheme. Executive Chairman Paul King will then discuss the stadium situation.

Salford Red Devils hope to see you all there!

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Salford Red Devils are delighted to announce the signing of Deon Cross on a one-year deal, with the option for a further year.

The winger arrives from Betfred Championship side, Widnes Vikings, where he won Try of the Year and Fans’ Player of the Year awards in 2021.

Cross started out at Rochdale Hornets in 2018, before moving to Barrow Raiders in 2019 for one season. The 25-year-old signed for Widnes ahead of the 2020 season, stating his dream was to play in Super League one day.

Speaking on signing for Salford, Cross said: “I’m really excited about the move, Super League has been the target since i started playing rugby.

“Salford is a fantastic club who have reached new heights more than once over the last few seasons, and I hope I can help this club achieve again.”

Director of rugby and operations Ian Blease added: “It’s no wonder why Deon was voted the fans’ Player of the Year this season at Widnes. He’s a very talented winger who is still only young, so has plenty of time to develop his game even further.

“Being around the likes of Ken Sio, Joe Burgess and Rhys Williams, who are all established Super League players, can only help Deon mature and improve.”

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::::Salford announce surprising international partnership::::

One thing every rugby league fan in this country seems to cry out for, is expansion across an international stage.

People often make the argument that rugby league is too centralised in England – especially the north – and Australia – especially in Sydney – and that needs to change for the betterment of the game.

Well, no one can accuse Salford of not doing their fair share in the name of expansion. The Red Devils, who themselves are facing uncertain times with no Head Coach yet appointed for 2022 nor a settled home ground going forward, have today announced an exciting new partnership with the Rugby League Federation Ghana.

The aim of this new partnership is to support the development of the sport – both players and coaches – in Ghana by providing development programmes. Meanwhile, it will offer marketing support and promotion of the game in the country.

At the heart of the initiative will be the Salford Red Devils Ghana National Rugby League Development Centre where courses will take place all funded by the club.

In mid-2022 three developing coaches funded by Salford will come over to Salford to experience an elite rugby league environment before Salford staff visit Ghana later in 2022 to deliver sessions and support development.

Salford will also be observing developing players in the programmes with opportunities for promising players to join the club’s player pathway scheme.

The Ghana National Team Coach Andy Gilvary spoke excitedly about the partnership when asked by the club’s official website: “The significance of this partnership has come at exactly the right time for Ghana. With more players, volunteers, clubs, and supporters than ever before, Salford will be able to steer the next generation of rugby league enthusiast in the country.

“The hope is, we will see Ghanaian players representing Salford in the Super League at some point in the future along with the club identity being embedded across the nation. Ghana remains committed to being the number one rugby league playing nation in Africa and we know Salford will help us to get there.”

Meanwhile, Salford Chief Executive Chairman Paul King shared his enthusiasm: “Ghana has a tremendous history of producing world class athletes across many sporting arenas, the opportunity to be able to tap into this incredible talent pool whilst also introducing the Salford brand to over 30 million new pairs of eyes is tremendously exciting. We are committing time, energy, and resources to this partnership to ensure its success over a prolonged period and are delighted to lead the way with the first arrangement of its type on the African continent.”

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Salford Red Devils are delighted to announce that leading independent supplier of wine and spirits, Kingsland Drinks Group, has today extended its sponsorship of the Club for a seventh season.

Building on the existing sponsorship in place with the wine and spirits supplier, this extension will see the Kingsland Drinks Group logo feature on team shirts. Additionally, brands from across Kingsland’s broad drinks portfolio will appear throughout the AJ Bell Stadium as part of the collaboration.

Paul King, Executive Chairman at Salford Red Devils said: “Kingsland Drinks is a local firm with a global footprint, so naturally we are very pleased to have them on board for the season ahead.

“Their portfolio of drinks means that we will see logos from a number of their well-known brands featured across the stadium; we’re proud to have so many brands from around the world feature in our home ground.”

Andy Sagar, Executive Chairman at Kingsland Drinks Group says: “We share northern roots and a huge sense of community, and we are happy to build on our long-term legacy with the Salford Red Devils by teaming up yet again for the season ahead.

“We especially applaud the club for its ability to bring together those from the local area and create pride in Salford – something that we, as an Irlam-based business, take very seriously. We have every confidence the year ahead looks bright for the team, and we’ll be cheering them on from the side lines.”

In July 2021, Salford Red Devils – with Andy Ackers and Rhys Williams leading the charge – pledged to use less single-use plastic after being inspired by Kingsland Drinks’ eco-conscious wine brand, The Hidden Sea. The company actively removes single-use plastic bottles from the world’s oceans powered by wine sales, meaning that people can become eco-warriors without leaving their sofas.

The Kingsland Drinks Group, which includes sister firm Ten Locks, is based in Irlam, Salford. Kingsland Drinks is one of the UK’s premier independent suppliers of wines and spirits. It’s also the biggest independent wine bottler in the UK, and produces wines and spirits on site in Irlam, and has done for 50 years. It was the very first company in the UK to import wine in bulk and today supplies wines to retailers such as Co-op,

Kingsland Drinks estimates that one in every eight bottles of wine drunk in the UK has gone through its site in Irlam, Greater Manchester. Kingsland Drinks employs around 490 people and – despite the recent landscape – the company has gone from strength to strength in recent years and has invested heavily in expanding and improving its production capabilities.

Recently, Kingsland Drinks made the move to becoming partially employee owned, putting employees at the heart of the business and enabling them to have a real stake in the success of the company.

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Salford Red Devils will be announcing Paul Rowley as their new coach at 12 today,
with Kurt Haggerty as one of his assistants.

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