Salford big hitter Ollie Partington is back - but the mullet isn't.
The tough loose forward, 24, returns to action against Castleford on Thursday after missing the last five games through injury. Following his move from Wigan, Partington was one of Super League’s most eye-catching performers in the early rounds. And not just because of the distinctive mullet hairstyle worn by him and team-mates Shane Wright and Amir Bourouh.
But Partington has cut it off ahead of his comeback. He said: “Originally, I grew it as I fancied a change as I’d had this haircut since I was about 10 or even younger. I like country music, mostly American stuff like Morgan Wallen, and a lot of them have mullets so it probably came from that.
“But now I just thought there’s too many of them. The market’s a bit crowded so I thought I’d go back to the old marine cut! It’s just strictly business now. We’re getting towards the business end so I thought I’d stick to the no party in the back!”
Salford won three of their five games without Partington. His return will certainly bolster their pack versus a Castleford side who picked up only their second victory of the season against Wakefield. Partington said: “We’re preparing for the best of them. We want to keep building and have to beat teams like Cas.
“I was happy with how I’d been going at the start of the season. But I hold myself to high standards so with results I can't say played well if we lost. We showed what we can do in those early games but - after Leigh - just didn't get wins which is frustrating. Wigan nicked it at the end because of Bevan (French) and Jai (Field) but we seem to be getting better each week."
Salford beat Leigh for a second time last weekend to prepare for the Castleford test and Partington hopes they can secure a fourth win in six outings. He's relishing playing the No13 role where he's been prasied not just for his toughness and strong running but his ball-handling and offload ability.
Some people were surprised Wigan let him go but he said: "I've no regrets. I was happy with the decision as soon as I signed and me geting to play that 13 role helps. It's credit to Paul Rowley, Kurt Haggerty and Krisnan Inu for letting me play more and developing that side of my game in training. It's good to see more ball-handling 13s coming back into play. It's something the sport doesn't do enough of and I do enjoy playing that style."
