Bradford Bulls signing Esan Marsters truly hoped his time at Salford Red Devils wouldn’t end the way it did, and throughout their troubles continued to think that their financial issues would be resolved.
Marsters was one of the last players to exit the club, being one of the final few people out of the door, before their liquidation was confirmed two weeks ago.
He joined the Bulls upon that news, inking a three-year deal to reunite with boss Kurt Haggerty and a number of players who also donned the Salford shirt in 2025.
In an interview with BBC Radio Leeds, Marsters has described his exit, and revealed he wanted to stick it out to the end in the hope that something would be done to save the club.
“It was a tough one,” he said. “I felt like I was a person that wanted to see what happened to the club.
“I really enjoyed my time at the club, and especially the coaches and the boys there. It felt like a situation where I was torn in between.
“Like I said, I really enjoyed my time there, regardless of what’s been going on, I always thought there were going to be some light at the end of the tunnel.”
Commenting on his new club, he continued: “It’s a shame that it didn’t work out, but I’ve been here for [over] a week now, and I’m really looking forward to getting to play for Bradford. I know the rich history they have.
“Speaking with Kurt, the vision he had for us as a team and how much it meant to him to coach the side, it just resonated a lot for me, so I felt like it was an opportunity I couldn’t miss, and them being a proud club and them coming up [to Super League], I knew it was the right move for me.”
Bradford Bulls signing comments on move and praises fans
Marsters was confirmed as a Bull two days after Salford went under, and after a fortnight of being at the club, is really enjoying his new surroundings.
“It’s been really good. The boys have been really welcoming. It’s been good to just get out there training with the boys, getting amongst it and I’m really looking forward to the year
“I know most of the boys in the team, for obvious reasons being at Salford. I played with boys like Rowan [Milnes] that came on loan.
“I’m still getting to know most of the boys, they seem a good bunch of boys, so it’s been really good and like I said, they’ve been really welcoming, so I’m hoping we can put all our training into a game soon.”
One thing that will help Bradford is that familiarity, and whilst they have made a heap of new signings, the fact most of them have prior experience playing together is a huge bonus.
Another factor that is in favour of the club is Odsal, and it’s unique stadium facilities. The bowl-shaped stadia can be an intimidating place to go, and after hearing stories about the ground, Masters can’t wait to run out on the field in Super League.
On his new set of fans and if they will be a boost, he said: “The crowd, and them coming to the games. Just looking at it now, I can visualise the first couple of games being packed out.
“It’s definitely going to be crazy, but I was speaking to one of the boys before, and he was saying that they had the highest fanbase here, in Bradford.
“It will be good for us to get a full crowd in, first game, and I know the boys are really looking forward to that.”
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