Locke rejected rugby union to join Salford

Salford full-back Kevin Locke has revealed that he turned down offers from Scottish rugby union so that he could move to Super League.

The player made his debut for Salford on Saturday, and put on a show for Red Devils fans as he helped his team to an important victory.

“I got a few union offers in Scotland around the same time as here, from Edinburgh and Glasgow,” said the Kiwi test star.

“But I wanted to stay in league. I didn’t want to switch.”

Locke has admitted to feeling disenchanted with rugby league before he moved, though that was more to do with the way he was being treated at New Zealand Warriors rather than anything else.

“It was more the fact that the coach was trying to put me in there at hooker or where they could slot me in,” he explained.

“I just couldn’t adapt to that so I really forced it upon them to try to get over here.

“The media hyped a lot of it up back home but it has been hard.

“But from day one, when I flew into the country, I’ve loved it. I’ve actually felt the happiest I’ve been for a few years and I’ve spoken to my family back home about how good it is over here.

“It’s a fresh start for me. I was starting to dislike rugby league just because of the way the Warriors were treating me but now I’ve started to love it again.”

Meanwhile, Salford coach Iestyn Harris has confirmed that Locke remains a doubt for the weekend game with Hull FC.

“We’ll wait for the result of scans but at this stage, we’re hopeful he will play on Saturday,” Harris said.

“He trained well yesterday.”