Wakefield Trinity Wildcats have secured the future of one of their hottest prospects by tying Max Jowitt to a new four-year deal to the end of 2018 season.
17-year old Jowitt debuted at St. Helens in August, following in the footsteps of father Ian who represented the club in the late 1980’s. A product of the Wildcats youth development programme, Jowitt signed his first full-time deal at 16 and has been rewarded for his progress in the last 12 months with a long term contract.
A former Stanley Rangers junior and a member of the Outwood Grange Academy side who won a number of national titles, Jowitt has represented England Youth and was named as part of the England Academy squad at the start of the season.
He joins Jordan Crowther in signing a long term deal, with the back-row forward signing a four-year contract in May following his debut at the DW Stadium in the days following his 17th birthday. The duo have enjoyed impressive first seasons at under 19’s Academy level with Jowitt named as Player of the Year and Crowther as Man of Steel.
“Max showed massive improvement last year in what was his first year as a full-time professional,” said Trinity boss James Webster.
“He’s a player of massive potential and you could see from day one when he came into the first team squad that he was not your average rugby league player.
“I think young kids can see a pathway at Wakefield that might not necessarily be there at clubs who have much bigger squads. We’ll be running with a squad of around 25 players next year and that means that every player will have a realistic chance of being involved from week to week.”
“It’s good to know that I’ll be here for the next few years at a good club,” said Jowitt.
“I think things are slowly coming together and I certainly think we’ve got a squad that will be able to challenge for the top eight over the next few years.
“I’ve just got to keep training hard and listening to what the coaches have to tell me. Webbo’s been great with me and done lots of one-to-one coaching so hopefully I’ll be able to keep improving.
“I think the next couple of years are vital for me. The first two months of being full-time was tough but as I’ve got used to it I feel a lot more comfortable and it’s a great bunch of lads and coaching staff to be around.”