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Eagles sign centre Max Clarke

26/02/2021

Sheffield Eagles have signed centre Max Clarke on a one-year deal.

Clarke, at 21-year-old, is another bright prospect brought into the club by Director of Rugby Mark Aston.

The youngster came through the ranks at London Broncos and is looking forward to the move up north.

“It’s an exciting move for me,” he said.

“I had a few chats with Mark and the things he said about the club, and how they want to go forward, was great to hear.

“It’s going to be good to learn from one of the best centres England has ever had in Keith Senior, so I’m excited about that as well.”

Clarke knows the challenge he faces to get into the team as James Glover and Connor Bower already have experience at Championship level.

“We have two good centres in James and Connor so it will be interesting going forward,” he added.

“I know I have to earn my way into the team but it is an exciting opportunity for me and hopefully I can get some decent game time this season.”

Aston is just as happy as Clarke to see the centre sign on the dotted line, saying: “We’re delighted to bring him in,”

“He’s an athlete, a strong boy with loads of potential.

“We have done some digging on him and the feedback was ‘loads of potential, needs a lot of work’ which is typically what we look for.

“He’s only 21-year-old and six-foot-five so he will be a big, big boy when he fills out!

“Once we educate him how to play centre, and what better person to help him than Keith Senior, I think we’ll have a diamond on our hands.”

Aston will have an eye on how Clarke competes for a place in the squad, with the aforementioned Bower and Glover both putting in the hard yards during training.

“The nice thing we’ve got to think about is neither of them (Bower and Glover) are old and Connor has had a superb pre-season,” Aston said.

“Glover has busted a gut to get a good pre-season so there is competition for places there but we’re always looking for years to come.

“We’re wanting to build something, like we did in the past, where the future is on our mind and Max is a player that fits that thinking.

“Keith is in charge of looking after these types of players on the field and I’m sure they’ll benefit from his tutelage.”

By Dan Fowler, photo by Alex Coleman