WOLFPACK CRANK UP SUPER BID BY LANDING O’BRIEN
SALFORD insist the sale of Million Pound hero Gareth O’Brien to Toronto has not been prompted by financial pressures.
The goal-kicking fullback, whose dramatic drop goal at Hull KR kept the Red Devils in Super League in 2016, has joined the ambitious Canadian club with immediate effect.
The Wolfpack have paid an undisclosed transfer fee for O’Brien but a Red Devils statement stressed that was not the motivation behind his exit, despite the departure of former owner Marwan Koukash (right).
Salford say an initial approach for O’Brien was turned down by the player and that the club “neither wanted nor needed to sell”.
But a change of heart from the 26-year-old saw the club permit talks, and promotion-chasing Toronto then met the Red Devils’ valuation for him. The Salford statement added: “Everyone would like to thank Gareth for his service. The full-back stepped up with an unforgettable moment, in the 2016 Million Pound Game, when the club needed it the most and wrote himself into the history of rugby league in Salford. “Salford Red Devils are active in the market for replacements.”
Mirror Sport understands O’Brien will not be the last highprofile arrival at the Wolfpack as they look to bolster their prospects of promotion to Super League.
Toronto coach Paul Rowley said: “An opportunity came up to bring in a quality full-back like Gareth and it was too good to miss.
“It’s rare a player of his ability becomes available and so we had no hesitation in bringing him to the club.”