Former Leeds rugby league youngster who had spell at Warrington Wolves signs for Sale Sharks

Hooker Alfie Longstaff - from Lofthouse, between Leeds and Wakefield - will step up from Sale’s under-18s to the senior academy for the 2024/25 season as he begins a three-year deal. He will train alongside Sale’s first team squad and also gain experience on dual-registration with a National League club.

“Signing my first professional contract is a big achievement for me and a goal I have been working towards for many years now,” Longstaff - who will also study for a degree in quantity surveying at Salford University - said. “I would like to thank all of my family and friends that have helped me along the way.

The 18-year-old played rugby league for Oulton Raiders and Castleford outfit Lock Lane and spent two years on Betfred Super League club Warrington Wolves’ scholarship. He turned down a contract offer from them to focus on studies at Woodhouse Grove School and his union career.

Longstaff began playing rugby with Rocky’s Giants, at Oulton, from the ages of three to six and for Raiders’ under-sevens to under-13s. He was an under-12s league, Continuation Cup and Leeds and District Cup champion with Oulton and then won a National Cup, Yorkshire Cup and Yorkshire Junior League treble with Lock Lane under-14s, as well as the Castleford and District competition.

In union, he won Yorkshire Cup titles with Rodillian Academy and for Sandal under-15 and has been a member of the Yorkshire Academy since under-16 level. He also represented England at under-18 and under-19 level.

Longstaff added: “My amateur teams from both my rugby union and league upbringing have been a key part of my development. Rodillian Academy and Woodhouse Grove have been great at aiding me in managing my academics alongside my rugby and I will study at university alongside my training at Sale Sharks.

“Yorkshire Academy have been a great part of my pathway and provided me with many opportunities. Starting my professional career, I feel Sale is the best fit for me and can’t wait to get started.”