Rugby league, cricket, and football players. Joe Shorrocks, the new player for the Salford Red Devils, is undoubtedly a multi-talented athlete and a jack of all crafts.
The majority of readers of this post will be familiar with Shorrocks as the professional rugby league player who spent his off-season training with Salford Red Devils in East Lancs after refining his craft at hometown side Wigan Warriors.
However, his past and his journey to this point are fascinating and well worth telling.
From his earliest memories, Shorrocks has played cricket and football, two sports in which he soon realised he was fairly skilled.
The Wiganer spent a year on the books at Lancashire County Cricket Club in addition to spending several years in Preston North End FC’s youth setup.
He didn’t pick up a rugby ball until he was a teenager, and that was at school. After that, he went to play with his neighbourhood club, Wigan St Patricks.
In a rare interview, Shorrocks says to Love Rugby League, “I played football and cricket alongside each other until I was about 13 and then I started playing rugby at school.” “I wanted to try it outside of school, but I had football and cricket most nights, so it was just a matter of finding a time to fit it in.”
“There were times when I would train at football and play rugby the following day. I was then offered a scholarship at Wigan (Warriors). I had to decide whether to move to Preston and attend college there with a Preston scholarship or accept the Wigan scholarship, and I obviously went with rugby.”
What made him choose between the three sports in which he could potentially make a career? To put it simply: his passion and love for rugby league.
“I wasn’t really enjoying it, going up to Preston three or four times a week for training,” Shorrocks remarked.
“I was enjoying myself immensely with my school friends down at St Pats, so when I was offered the scholarship at Wigan, I decided to pursue rugby instead of football because I knew it would be difficult to succeed in football, particularly if you wanted to play in the Premier League or Championship. I was definitely having more fun (in rugby) at the time, so I wasn’t sure if I would make it, but I’m glad I made the decision.
This season, Shorrocks—who signed a three-year contract with Salford from Wigan—will partner with Ryan Brierley of the Red Devils, a devoted North End supporter who frequently attends games at Deepdale.
“I’m going to make sure that after this interview that he knows that I played at Preston, even though I don’t think he really thinks that.” Shorrocks chuckled.
“I’m going to tell him after this because I know he’s a huge Preston fan and I constantly see him in his Preston tracksuit.”
Joe Shorrocks discusses leaving the Wigan Warriors and how the Salford Red Devils were able to acquire him.
Adrian Lam, the head coach at the time, gave Shorrocks his first team debut in 2019 after he rose through the academy ranks at his home club, Wigan.
Over the course of five seasons, the utility forward would make 75 appearances for the Warriors, playing a key role in Matt Peet’s team that won the Super League title last year and the Challenge Cup in 2022.
Speaking with Love Rugby League, Shorrocks claimed he made the decision to leave his boyhood club in order to pursue consistent playing time, which Wigan was unable to provide for the foreseeable future. Pretty much immediately after their first discussions, Shorrocks was sold on Salford.
“I wasn’t playing as much at Wigan as I wanted to at the end of last year,” he said. “I believe I played just one game the remainder of the season after getting sent off in the Challenge Cup (losing to Hull KR in the semifinal).
I asked Matty (Peet) if I could go because I wasn’t playing as much as I wanted to. At first, he said, “I don’t want you to leave,” but I think that after some time and after talking to my agent, he started to see things from my perspective. For another year, I didn’t want to sit behind anyone.
“And then obviously, as soon as I talked to some of the boys, like Singo (Brad Singleton) and P (Ollie Partington), and met Bleasey (Ian Blease, director of rugby and operations) and Rowls (Paul Rowley, head coach), about coming to Salford, I was immediately persuaded that I wanted to come here.”
“I think the way Paul and Bleasey sold it to me fits in perfectly with the way I want to play, and Salford was the only team that really appealed to me, so that’s how it worked out.”
Shorrocks is well-known for his versatility, having played half-back, hooker, centre, loose forward, and even produced a man-of-the-match performance in Wigan’s victory on Good Friday of last year, his maiden game as a stand-off.
However, in 2024, the former England Academy player hopes to establish himself as a loose forward who can play the ball with the Red Devils.
He acknowledges, “I want to play loose forward, but nothing is ever guaranteed.” “I’ll gladly go in for the team if there’s a week when I need to cover for someone, but myself, I want to get that loose forward role locked down.
We love playing ball here, so I think my style of play fits right in with how Rowls wants to play.
Before I joined, I had no idea what it was all about, but now that I am, I can see that, if you will, there is a method to the madness. As a squad, we’re quite enthusiastic about it and want to keep pushing for it throughout the season.
Be the first to comment