Bradford sign centre Gibson

Bradford Bulls have signed former Leeds, Salford, Castleford and Wakefield centre Ashley Gibson until the end of the 2018 season.

Gibson signed for Wakefield prior to the 2016 season but has only made seven appearances for the club – scoring five tries.

He began his Super League career at Leeds in 2005, aged 18, scoring a hat-trick on his debut in a 74-0 win against Leigh Centurions.

After five years at Headingley he joined Salford, where he became a first-team regular scoring 43 tries in 87 appearances.

Gibson signed for Castleford in 2014 before a switch to neighbours Wakefield, but after failing to nail down a first-team spot with Trinity the 30-year-old has joined the Bulls in search of regular action.

“It’s a really young squad and I think I’m one of the oldest in the team,” Gibson said.

“There are some real exciting young lads and hopefully with a bit of experience we can bring them through.

“When I trained, everyone seemed in really good spirits having a laugh and training really well but they all got serious when they needed to.”

After strengthening his squad further in the search of survival, Bulls head coach Geoff Toovey spoke highly of his new signing.

“We don’t have to train him, he can step straight in and carry on from where he left off,” he said.

“A person of his quality and experience can step right in, he trained with us today, he felt at home and didn’t miss a beat really. I’m sure he’ll be well regarded by the fans and fellow players.

“I’m sure that he will help enhance and bring some tenacity to the club when things get tough in a game.

“The Bradford club is a place where people want to play, it has a lot of history and status in the game, so I’m not surprised but I’m very grateful and hopefully he can help us finish the year strongly.”