Barrow Raiders land former Super League prop Aspinwall

The former Wigan, Castleford, Hull FC and Huddersfield man has signed up at Craven Park from Leigh for next season.

At 34, Aspinwall brings a wealth of experience from more than 200 Super League matches with him – as well as training towards becoming a qualified accountant.

Those qualities have seen him sign on for a year at Craven Park – with the option for a second season – and start a new job with Barrow accountancy firm RF Miller, whose role helped ensure his arrival.

Barrow boss Paul Crarey hailed the work of Elaine Harris from RF Miller for taking on Aspinwall, a player he expects to play a major role in Kingstone Press League One next year.

“I want him to lead,” said Crarey. “We fell down a little bit with experience this year.

“With Martin, Ollie (Oliver Wilkes), Ryan Fieldhouse at the back and Liam Harris, we've got more experience.

“We've also got a lot of young players and there will be some signings over the next few weeks of young players who will come and learn from these guys.

“It's important that a good apprentice has a good tradesman to learn from and it's invaluable what these experienced players are going to bring to the team.

“These young lads are going to learn so much in a short time.

“I remember when I signed at 19, David Cairns, Mal Flynn, John Lightfoot were invaluable to my learning process and Martin will bring all that and more.

“He's got his head screwed on. He's a very intelligent guy and he's a very good rugby player.

“He's not big-headed, he's not aloof, he's a great kid to be around. He's going to bring us that little bit of professionalism which will help us challenge.

“The fixtures show it's a really competitive league, with Toulouse coming in, Doncaster spending money and Hunslet dualled with Leeds.

“It's going to be a tough division and the more experience we can bring in, the better.

“We don't want to forget the development side either and we will see that in the signings we have made and will make – signings who will benefit a lot from playing alongside people like Martin.”

Joint-director of rugby Andy Gaffney was equally delighted to see Aspinwall follow Wilkes and Fieldhouse in joining up to the Barrow cause.

He sees those deals as a signal of desire, and said: “Martin is the biggest signing to date and it shows the intent of the club going forward.

“Other teams would sign players like this on dual-registration, but we've brought him and Oliver Wilkes in on deals ourselves. It shows our ambition that these are now our players.

“We're aiming to be right up there and these players can really take us forward in the league.”

Aspinwall comes to Barrow after three seasons at Leigh and with three England A caps to his name.

He has played in both a Super League Grand Final and Challenge Cup final, but in recent years has started to focus on life after RL, gaining his first accounting qualifications.

He will continue to work towards those at RF Miller, with Crarey hailing the role of local companies in employing players to enable Raiders to afford to have them in the squad.

“The deal was for him to get a job. He studying accounting, so I came to see Elaine, who is a good friend of mine, and I asked if it would be possible for him to get a job.

“Martin has come up and we went through with Elaine the process at college and she has called me up to say they want to offer Martin a job.

“It's a massive boost for us, because we wouldn't be able to afford a playing contract for him otherwise. It's a way of staying under the salary cap.

“Martin can still play rugby league and get the experience he needs in accounting over the two-year period with Elaine. It's a win-win situation for everybody.

“As a club, we can't thank Elaine enough. She's a shirt sponsor, one of the main sponsors we have at the club, and now she has done this, which is a massive thing for the club.

“There's also John Coward, from Advance Roofing Supplies, who has given Anthony Bate a job.

“We haven't got a lot of money and we don't have a big sponsor in the town, but these local businesses are helping Barrow Raiders and keeping us afloat. Without their passion and commitment, the club would wither and die.

“I want to personally thank Elaine and RF Miller for giving us the opportunity to bring a star player into the club and to do everything above board. It helps the club progress and hopefully we can challenge at the top end of the table rather than sitting in the middle.

“She has given a lot back to the club and to the area and for her to do this is phenomenal. It's the same with John Coward and I can't thank them enough.”