Saturday 28 January 2017

Swinton Lions 2017 Squad: Part Four

With three wins from three in pre-season and the first league game just over a week away time to continue looking at the Lions' 2017 squad. This piece covers numbers 17-21.

Oliver (Olly) Davies comes with an excellent pedigree from St Helens for whom he made two Super League appearances.

Davies plays second row but looks to have enough size to play as a prop in the future. While with the Saints, Davies reached the Under-19s grand final where a Wigan side containing Luke Waterworth, Liam Marshall and Gabriel Fell triumphed 22-10.

John Duffy has a good record recruiting young second row forwards from Super League academy and reserve level. Connor Dwyer and Ben Austin both joined in similar circumstances and the pair will offer Davies strong competition for a place in the side this season.
Ben Austin has become a reliable member of the squad since joining in 2015. Like Davies he came through the Super League academy, in his case at Wigan where he played in the pack alongside Rob Lever and former Lion Grant Beecham.

Austin wasn't a fixture in the team early on in the 2015 season but fought his way into the side and certainly improved throughout the year culminating in an excellent display in the play-off final victory over Keighley.

Last year Austin was almost ever-present in the matchday squad and continues to improve as he becomes more experienced. Though his heart has never been questioned, some fans have suggested his size is an issue but Austin looks bigger and better in pre-season and is sure to be an important player in 2017.
Happy to play the role of pantomime villain with opposition supporters, Josh Barlow is well liked among Lions fans. His commitment and determination is visible in every game he plays and while his reputation sometimes goes against him with referees, Barlow's discipline improved as last season went on.

After signing for Wigan as a teenager, Barlow was unable to break into the first team and spent time in Australia and at Huddersfield before signing for his hometown club Halifax for the 2011 season.

Barlow signed for Swinton after two years with 'Fax and played in the second row in 2013 and 2014 as the club were relegated to League One. Barlow's performances were enough to earn a move to Dewsbury but injury halted his progress and he made a return to the Lions midway through the 2015 season.

The highlight of his 2015 season was undoubtedly charging down a Keighley drop-goal attempt in the dying seconds of the play-off final as Swinton won promotion to the Championship.

Last year Barlow found himself as stand-in hooker, a role he'd played early on in his career, following the injury to Anthony Nicholson. It looks unlikely the Scotland international will be used in that role in 2017 though with greater depth in that area so he has a real fight on his hands for a spot in the second row. After missing the pre-season games to attend a wedding in Australia, Barlow is playing catch up with the rest of the team.
Sean Kenny has been one of the stars of pre-season for Swinton. His energetic style has helped keep the Lions on the front foot in all three wins.

Coming through the academy system at Warrington, it was at the relatively late age of 21 that Kenny made his Super League debut after signing for Salford. His spell at Salford at the back end of last season helped the Red Devils preserve their Super League status with Kenny featuring in the famous Million Pound Game win which relegated Hull KR.

Kenny is a big signing for the Lions and will be looking to get back into Super League through strong performances in the Championship.
A graduate of Manchester Metropolitan University, it was Mike Butt's exploits in the student game which earned him an opportunity at Swinton in 2015.

Butt has been used as both full-back and winger in his time with the Lions and scored a try in the promotion play-off in 2015. Though he's not always been first choice, Butt has been a reliable squad player and has developed a lot over the last 18 months.

The try against Wigan in the final pre-season game was a demonstration of his speed and finishing skills and Butt will be ready to grasp any opportunities which come his way in 2017.

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