Salford City Reds’ new coach Brian Noble has raided rugby union for his first recruit and completed the permanent signing of Leeds Rhinos’ England prop Darrell Griffin.
The Reds have signed 23-year-old centre Jordan Davies from Sale Sharks, who share the Salford City Stadium with the Super League club, on an 18-month contract.
Bolton-born Davies played amateur rugby league for local club Eccles before joining Sale and has also had spells in New Zealand and at Leeds Carnegie. Noble said: “Jordan comes highly rated, but we certainly don’t want to heap pressure on him.
“He has played rugby league before when he was 16, but a lot has changed since then so we will let him settle in to the way we do things. “He will be having a look at us over the next 18 months as we are at him. He’s an exciting prospect.”
Salford player welfare manager Paul Highton said: “We are really looking forward to working with Jordan.
“He has bags of talent and this is a big career move for him. He knows the area, knows the stadium already and is chomping at the bit to get going.
“He will now be working closely with our conditioners to get up to speed as quickly as possible and provide us with another exciting option.”
Meanwhile, Griffin, 31, has signed a two-year deal with the Reds after spending the last three months on loan from the Rhinos.
Griffin was a member of Leeds’ Grand Final-winning team at Old Trafford last October, but was unable to force his way into the team this year and has played the last 10 matches for the Reds.
“I’ve been really impressed with the club and the people here since I arrived eight weeks ago,” he said. “It’s clearly a club and a team travelling in the right direction.
“With the appointment of Brian Noble, who has such a history of success in the game, it means there are great times ahead here.
“The potential of the place is huge. If we can make some strong signings and build for next year and then again the year after, in two or three years we could be among the strongest in the game which would be excellent not just for Salford but for Super League as a whole.”