Salford Red Devils have confirmed their academy coaching team for the upcoming 2025 campaign. The Super League side were awarded an elite academy license earlier this year as the club move to improve their infrastructure and produce their own homegrown talent.
The club have appointed three men to lead its academy, with Danny Barton, Sam Bardsley and Neil Belshaw taking on leadership roles within the organisation. Barton, who represented Salford as a player at the very start of his time in the game, had been part of the club’s foundation, but will now take on the academy head coach role.
He was recently awarded level four status after being part of the RFL’s coach programme, while he also helped the club’s development academy side to a Grand Final last year.
Bardsley also spent time in the senior fold at Salford, training with the first-team in 2019 without making an appearance. He’ll hold an assistant coach role alongside Neil Belshaw, who teams sport at Eccles Sixth Form College and previously worked at Widnes Vikings.
“It is a great honour to coach the elite academy in an exciting new era for rugby league in Salford,” Barton told the Salford Red Devils club website.
“I look forward to seeing the new players representing the club and achieving their goals, as we continue to work together with the ultimate aim of making it the best environment for all involved.”
Bardsley added: “It’s a full circle moment for me as I’ve been involved at Salford since I was 16 years old in the scholarship system.
“Since then, I’ve been able to progress my playing career at a professional level, all whilst gaining valuable experience along the way, which has helped my coaching development massively – the most memorable being the 2019 Grand Final season.
“In these environments, I’ve been like a sponge, learning every day from elite level players and coaches. I’m aiming to pass on what I’ve learned throughout my experiences onto the next generation.
“I’m really excited to be given the opportunity to coach within the elite academy, and I am hopeful my experience playing the game, alongside my coaching experience over the last six years, will help mould these young players full of potential into smart athletes who can take the next step and hopefully achieve their end goal of playing in the Super League for Salford.”
