Salford RLFC swoop to sign young Super League duo as short-term moves confirmed

Bradford Bulls’ Cameron Bate and Castleford Tigers’ Daniel Sarbah will both don a shirt for Salford RLFC this weekend having joined the Championship outfit on short-term loan deals.

Front-rower Bate penned a full-time deal with Bradford ahead of the 2026 campaign as their return to Super League was confirmed.

Back in February, the Bulls announced that he had joined Championship side Swinton on a season-long loan, and he featured three times for the Lions with all of those appearances coming off the bench.

But having made his senior bow in the game against London Broncos, young forward Bate’s most recent game for Swinton came on March 29, with his season-long loan cut short.

Now, he has agreed an initial one-week move to Salford, linking up with the Reds for their trip to Halifax Panthers on Sunday afternoon.

Salford RLFC swoop to sign young Super League duo as short-term moves confirmed

Bate will be joined in Salford’s squad at The Shay by teenager Sarbah, an outside-back who has already featured once for the Reds this term having played on the wing for them earlier this month in a 32-6 defeat to Widnes Vikings.

Just as is the case with Bate at Bradford, Sarbah is yet to make his first-team debut for Super League side Castleford.

His sole appearance for Salford earlier this month brought the third senior game of his career to date having also played twice on loan for Newcastle Thunder last season.

Together, Bate and Sarbah will line up for a Salford side currently sat 16th on the Championship ladder having won three of their opening 11 games in the competition this term.

Earlier this week, the phoenix club announced that Dave Hewitt had been handed the head coach role on a permanent basis.

Hewitt had been in interim charge since Mike Grady’s departure from the club in late March, and veteran hooker Brad Dwyer has committed to a new role as player-assistant, penning a contract which runs until the end of the 2026 campaign.

Salford have also managed to add St Helens pair George Whitby and Jacob Douglas to their squad for this weekend’s trip to Halifax.

Highyl-rated half-back Whitby has 18 first-team appearances under his belt for Saints, including six this term, and featured seven times on dual-registration for Fax last season.

Douglas meanwhile is yet to make his senior bow for Saints after signing from rivals Wigan Warriors in the off-season.

The winger joins Salford on the back of a month-long loan stint in Super League with Huddersfield Giants which saw him score two tries in four games, taking the winger’s senior career appearance tally up to 26.