WARRINGTON Wolves have completed the signing of 16-year-old England
Under 15 centre Ryan Shaw, who joins the Wolves from Barrow Island
ARLFC in Cumbria.
Shaw is the son of former Barrow player Neil Shaw and the second Barrow Island junior, following Ben Harrison, to join the professional ranks in recent years.
Speaking at Barrow Island ARLFC, a delighted Shaw spoke of his pride in joining the Wolves, he said: “Words can’t describe how I feel at the moment, it’s brilliant. I’ve been playing rugby since I could walk, I’ve been brought up with rugby, it’s all I’ve ever known. My family is rugby league through and through. Every night I’m training hard on my rugby, obviously I have to fit my schoolwork in, but it will prove to be worth it in the end.”
Shaw, who lives with his family in Ulverston is staying with his family and commuting to training, after this was agreed
between him and his family.
He continued: “I’ll simply have to be prepared and organised, I will be doing gym work both here and in Warrington.”
His father Neil Shaw, has every confidence in son’s ability to cope with the pressure and travelling, he said:
“The family are committed to doing it and eventually we hope that he will relocate to Warrington when he earns a full time contract, that’s what we all would like to happen. The commitment ahead we are prepared for and we have got to give the lad the opportunity to do this. It’s all now about him applying that and getting things right.”
He added: “The whole family are very proud of Ryan as a sportsman and as a person as well. He has worked very hard to get where he’s at, at the moment. I think he knows there is a lot of hard work ahead for him to achieve his dream of to play Super League. I’ve coached Ryan since he was ten, I was playing professional and when I retired decided to take over the team Ryan was playing for. Obviously he’s now stepping up a level to the professional game, I’ve tried to pass on some advice to him that it will be a tough journey for him and he has to be prepared mentally for everything the game has got to throw at him.”
Warrington Wolves’ Director of Youth Development, John Bastian is also committed to make things work for Shaw, he said:“The support Ryan has had off his family has been first class, as has the development he has received at the Barrow Island club. Long term we do want Ryan to become hopefully part of our first grade squad. That has to be a realistic goal for him.
When he has fulfilled his commitments with Barrow Island he will travel down three times a week to train with the academy. We will liaise with his parents when the time is right to relocate Ryan to the Warrington area. This will have be done though with the blessing of his parents.”
Ryan Shaw is another signing from arguably something of an untapped area of talent for Super League. Bastian feels Warrington may see more Cumbrians joining the Wolves club in the future. He added: “The link between Cumbria and Warrington is very strong. The junior players in Cumbria are of a good standard and we will always be looking to bring young players down to Warrington. Cumbrians do produce some top junior talent and I think it’s a key area that we need to concentrate alongside others in working on. I guarantee we will get one or two good young kids
from out of this area.
Ryan Shaw is the 4th new signing announced for the Wolves Academy this season, with more expected to follow.
