I am sorry if this sounds like a history lesson but back in 69/70 the then Salford Management decided it was time to start using local talent. The Club advertised that it was looking to start an Under 17's team known then as the 'Colts'. I went down to the club and along with about 30 other Salford lads signed up. The Team was run by the Great Dai Moses and Ernie Critchley and we trained twice a week at Stott lane. Several of the first team would also come down to the sessions the likes of Paul Charlton, Ken Roberts, Pete Smethurst and a few others.
The team eventually joined a league and we played against all the Lancashire clubs plus Leeds and HKR. We had some great players and initially after a few beatings we started to compete. I sadly was not good enough, I turned out for Widnes and Warrington once each and subbed for Salford against HKR but didn't get on.they were a great bunch of lads and stuck together but unfortunately only one made it to the first team. I think there is local talent we just have to dig a bit deeper.
Last years Academy profiles backsup Loyal Fans earlier post regarding Salford having the same shopping list for youngsters as other super league clubs .This season it proves more difficult to check as we apparently have Salford Reserves team according to the official website .
Wire appear leading the way at the minute with thinking out of the box and have made the effort to turn up at Cadishead on a fairly regular basis over the last couple of years to see whats going on at the club,
I coached Mr Whitham at Warrington last year and he is a very good prospect that Salford should have spotted. Salfords loss is definitely Warrington's gain!
Whether he will make it is up to him, he has the potential and a great opportunity to do so.
Cadishead Rhinos are a thriving club in the area with a large pool of junior talent. The club also has some very good coaches of the junior teams so they are in very good hands and progressing well... yet Salford seem to have pretty much zero interest in the kids there for no good reason. I know of one instance of a Salford 'scout' recommending a player to Warrington... which is criminal. This took place at an away game in Wigan... as the Salford scouts are not seen at Cadishead.
Whoever comes in needs to take a look closer to home starting in the Salford area. They need a hands on approach. I've seen the junior teams in the Widnes area sporting the Widnes Vikings logo on their shirts as they are seen as part of the bigger picture. At Salford we have nothing like that. Kids in Salford should have a real reason to aspire to play for this club. At this time they don't. If this job is done correctly, then this will be a starting point.
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