Chris Atkin wants to hang around to achieve something special at Salford but will never forget the role Hull KR played in putting him on the map.
The ex-PE teacher goes up against his former club tonight seeking to make sure the Red Devils maintain their winning start to the Super League season. There’s definitely a feel-good factor around Paul Rowley’s Salford after they defied the odds to challenge on both fronts last term. And, recently, in-demand Man of Steel Brodie Croft has pledged his long-term future to the ambitious club along with England hooker Andy Ackers.
Prolific winger Joe Burgess did likewise this week and the club announced and captain Kallum Watkins announced last night that he'd also extended until 2025 so it’s no surprise versatile playmaker Atkin, 30, wants to follow suit. The England Knights star said: “With me, there’s an option for next year in the club’s favour. But you can see by the lads who are re-signing that they want to be a part of something at Salford and we’re all buying into that. With the way Rowls treats the lads, and the way we’re looking, everyone wants to stay - or join us - to be a part of something.
“We’re really focused on what we’re doing on the field and the group we’ve got is really close-knit. It’d be great to be a part of it myself for the next few years as well so we’ll see what happens. It’s exciting times here.”
Salford kicked-off with Friday’s hard-fought 20-10 win at promoted Leigh but KR began in style by beating Challenge Cup holders Wigan the following day. Atkin always enjoys facing them given the role the East Yorkshire club has played in his development. He was 24 and working in a high school when the Robins bought him from Swinton in 2017.
But just a few months later Atkin - released by Widnes as a teenager - was starring in Super League and he’s never looked back. He recalled: “I’m just really, really grateful for the club giving me that opportunity, which a few years earlier was just a distant dream. It was an opportunity I’d maybe given up on. But I really enjoyed those years up at Hull. And it led me back home to the north-west at Salford.”
And that’s where he’s really flourished. Salford, though, do have a miserable record against Rovers. They have lost six of their last seven meetings with their only success in that run being a 2019 golden-point victory when Atkin still featured for the opposition. Scotland prop Sam Luckley is set for his KR debut on his first return to Salford where he starred last year.
Atkin said: “I told Sam he’d enjoy it at Rovers and he’d be looked after as I was when I was there. We know what Sam’s about. He’s a very good forward and he’ll do some good things. KR played really well to get a great result against Wigan but we had a hard-fought first win at Leigh. And we can’t wait for Thursday.”
