Sheffield Eagles sign St Helens ace Jake Spedding on loan

Director of rugby Mark Aston bolsters his options further following the recent loan additions of Reece Dean and Liam Johnson, with Spedding expected to be involved for Sunday’s Championship clash with Swinton Lions at Heywood Road (3pm).

The 20-year-old is another versatile operator likely to give Aston options at centre and on the wing, as the Eagles chief looks to arrest his side’s recent slide which has seen them slip to five straight defeats in all competitions.

“He is a young kid, he has played a handful of games in Super League and we really like him,” Aston told The Star.

“He has a big future in the game, so we are delighted to get him and we thank St. Helens for allowing him to come here as part of his development.

“He has joined us for a month, so that helps us with competition for places. He is only young but the most important thing is that he is enthusiastic and he wants to play.”

Leeds-born Spedding, who has represented England at youth level, played twice in Super League for Saints last term, earning praise for his performance on debut in the victory over Warrington.

He joins the likes of Dean and Johnson as part of a cluster of young loan players that are currently supplementing Aston’s threadbare squad, which was helped at the start of this season by their dual-registration agreement with Leigh. With Leigh currently holding back on players due to their own injury issues, Aston has moved for Spedding who he hopes can have a similar impact to his fellow loan signings.

“He wants to develop and learn, the same as Reece Dean and Liam Johnson,” Aston continued. “These guys are really good kids. That is what we are looking for at this moment in time.”

“We are always keen to take good young kids who are disciplined, good professionals and want to work hard for us.

“We need to look after the things that we are in control of, that’s the message to our players at this moment in time. We needed to fetch new players in, we have got Jake on board, but it is important now to start hitting the ground running.”

The Eagles make the journey to Swinton this Sunday, kick off 3pm.