Vodafone Warriors sign young Leeds duo

 

The Vodafone Warriors have today signalled a new direction in their recruitment strategy by announcing they’ve signed two elite junior players from England for the club’s NYC squad next season.
General manager football operations Dean Bell said snaring highly-rated 18-year-old Leeds forwards Jordan Baldwinson and Mason Tonks underlined the club’s aim to promote and develop young players from not only New Zealand but also other parts of world.
The signings are a direct result of a reconnaissance trip Bell and chief executive Wayne Scurrah made to England recently where they met up with leading player agents including Craig Harrison, who manages both players.
“We’re really excited about signing Jordan and Mason. For us, this is the start of something new and something we see working very well for our club and for the game generally,” he said.
“Jordan has already made his Super League debut this year and Mason is highly regarded as well. While they’re only very young they’ve both got the qualities needed to become NRL players of the future.
“We’re seeing more and more evidence of players from Super League clubs having success in the NRL. Adrian Morley, Gareth Ellis and Sam Burgess have led the way while South Sydney is doing a great job developing the other Burgess boys into NRL players as well.”
Vodafone Warriors junior recruitment and pathways coach Stacey Jones, who will coach the club’s NYC side next season, welcomed the signings.
“They’re two young boys with big reputations and I’m sure they’re going to make a real difference to our squad,” he said.
Source : http://www.warriors.co.nz