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Two rugby league youngsters from Caerphilly County Borough have been named in the Salford Red Devils squad for the 2023 Super League season.
Joe Coope-Franklin, 21, from Oakdale, will wear the number 29 shirt for the Manchester-based club, while 18-year-old Billy Walkley, from Caerphilly, will sport the number 30 jersey.
Just over two years ago, the Red Devils went into partnership with Wales Rugby League and Coleg y Cymoedd, which hosts an academy for the Super League outfit.
Centre Coope-Franklin and halfback Walkley, who can also play fullback, are the first two players to break into the first side since the partnership was set up.
Coope-Franklin began playing rugby league with Coleg y Cymoedd in the WRL National Development Academy and made his Salford debut in their final game of last season, having initially joined the team’s reserve squad in 2021.
Meanwhile former St Cenydd pupil Walkley, who came through the ranks at Aber Valley Wolves, has already appeared for Wales U17s and U19s international teams, playing in last year’s European Championships.
Walkley began his Salford journey in 2021, joining their U18s side and playing in the reserves last year.
He was also named in the Wales Rugby League Team of the Year in 2022.
Coope-Franklin said: “Being selected to train with the Salford Red Devils first-team full-time is a great achievement and something I have been aiming towards since I started training for the reserves.
“The reserves set-up has benefitted my rugby league understanding and skills. With the help of Stuart Wilkinson and the rest of the reserves’ coaches, my ambitions to be a professional rugby league player has come around sooner than I thought.
“The move up north was made easier by the support of UCLAN, where I have developed as a rugby league player too. Thank you to Paul Rowley for giving me this opportunity and I hope to take full advantage of it.”
Walkley said: “I am thankful for the opportunity given to me to join the first team.
“The help from Stuart Wilkinson in the reserves and UCLAN have made this move up north much easier for me, which allowed me to just be myself and perform throughout pre-season with confidence.”
Mark Jones, WRL general manager and head of the National Development Academy, said: “When we originally set up the tri-partnership with Coleg Y Cymoedd, Salford Red Devils and Wales Rugby League, our aspirations were to build a stronger base of players for our international pathways.
“The fantastic news is that in such a short space of time, Joe and Billy are signing full-time Super League contracts with Salford, and that has surpassed all of our targets.”
He added: “They deserve all the success that is coming to them. This amazing news is proof that dreams do come true.”
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