Salford announced recently that Brodie Croft had signed a historic new long-term contract with Salford Red Devils, keeping him at the Club until 2030.
By keeping hold of one of the competitions finest and most sought after players, the Red Devils have shown their intention to build on the incredible progress made by the team in 2022 and aim even higher in 2023.
The Australian halfback joined the Club in August 2021 and has gone from strength to strength under the tutelage of Paul Rowley.
Across 2022, Croft produced stunning performance after stunning performance to climb the Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel charts. A particularly strong ending to the season propelled Salford into a playoff position and secured the coveted award ahead of Wigan Warriors’ Jai Field and St Helens’ Jack Welsby.
That was just one of countless individual honours the 25-year-old amassed in his debut campaign.
He was presented with the prestigious Albert Goldthorpe Medal before our playoff eliminator against Huddersfield Giants – an award held in high esteem across the rugby league community.
At the Club’s annual awards evening, Croft’s incredible efforts were recognised by picking up the Coaches Player, the Players’ Player and the Supporters Player of the Year.
His 32 try contributions across the year also earned him a spot in the Betfred Super League Dream Team alongside Red Devils teammates, Ken Sio and Tim Lafai.
A move that will either sure up Salford’s future success or ensure the club gets a big transfer fee for his services opposed to the less than £200,000 offer St George Illawarra Dragons reportedly made for him.
However, according to The Mole of Wide World of Sports there is a release clause at the end of every year within the eight year contract and he fully expects interest at the end of 2023.
This was the peak of the speculation that despite Croft’s new deal that he would leave sooner rather than later with the likes of Jamie Foster claiming he would leave soon.
However, Croft has provided Salford fans with reassurance that he is here to stay with the halfback looking for houses in the area.
He said on Sky Sports last night: “Yes we’ve started looking at houses and all that, just glad we got it sorted before the season so I can focus on the rugby.
“With a deal like this, everything is on the table. We looked at everything. I had conversations with my partner, my mum and dad, my friends and family back home and a few people that I value the opinions of.
“I looked into every aspect and now I am just excited by the future.”
He is also ready to keep evolving his game: “I always think your game can evolve, the coaches are good at keeping us accountable and they push me to deliver and strive to be better each week.”