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SALFORD prop Stephen Nash has verbally agreed a one-year contract extension.
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Nash is staying

PROP Stephen Nash has agreed to stay at Salford next year and the Reds expect fellow young guns Stephen Bannister and Luke Adamson to soon follow suit.

But 12 Salford players, including ex-Huddersfield three-quarter Mat Gardner, look certain to move on having not been offered contract extensions.

The other Reds heading for the exit door are Testimonial man Paul Highton, Chris Borgese, Andrew Brocklehurst, Andy Ballard, Leon Walker, Jason Walton, Luke Ambler and Daley Williams.

Steve Simms, Salford’s director of football, said: "We have 15 players signed up for next season and Stephen Nash has now agreed to stay. I have sent his one-year contract out to his agent for him to sign.

"We are delighted that Stephen is staying. He’s a good player with a lot of potential. He’s only 22 and front rowers generally aren’t at their best until they are in their late 20s.

"I have also spoken to the agents of Stephen Bannister and Luke Adamson. Signing them is our top priority now in terms of keeping players from this year’s squad.

"I am confident that they will both stay and I expect to hear back from them in the next few days.

"Bannister has been in really good form for us lately and I am sure that he will rise to the challenge of returning to Super League having played in the top flight for St Helens and Harlequins.

"Adamson has been with us for a long time and is another very good young player.

"We have got to keep our best young players and continue to produce others."

Salford have been linked with St Helens loose forward Paul Sculthorpe, Hull KR half back Paul Cooke and North Queensland Cowboys’ Kiwi half back or second rower Sione Faumuina in recent weeks but Simms has confirmed that the Reds are not planning to recruit any of those players.

However, he admitted that the Reds are interested in signing Canberra Raiders’ controversial goal kicking half back Todd Carney. The 22-year-old is keen to move to England after being suspended by his Aussie club until the end of the season following a series of alcohol-fuelled incidents.

And Simms said: "We are looking to sign a half back and Todd Carney is a great player. But I have not been in contact with the player or his agent.

"He is on good money in Australia and I don’t know if we could afford him. But if we could afford him and Canberra were happy for him to go then we would be interested yes.

"We are talking to a few players about signing for us. But we are not after Sculthorpe, Cooke or Faumuina. They are all good players but they are not players that we have spoken about so they won’t be coming to Salford."

The table-topping Reds go into their home National League One game with rock bottom Dewsbury Rams tomorrow, Friday, August 8, kick-off 8pm, with a fully fit squad.

And Simms is confident that Salford will win the game and guarantee themselves the league leaders’ shield.

But he said: "We are very confident of winning but we can’t afford to be complacent.

"Dewsbury are a decent side on their day and they beat Whitehaven at the weekend, who were the form team in the competition before that result.

"And we want to be going into the play-offs with some momentum behind us. We have two home games left and we consider them both to be must-win matches."

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