Oliver Partington says his Wigan Warriors-supporting family have had no issue with his switch to Salford Red Devils.
The 24-year-old forward came through the Wigan Academy, making a first-team debut in 2018 and going on to make 92 appearances.
Partington helped the Warriors win the League Leaders’ Shield in 2020 and was part of the team pipped at the last in the subsequent Grand Final.
But he fell down the pecking order last year under Matt Peet and has sought a fresh start elsewhere in Greater Manchester, leaving his hometown club behind.
“They’d seen that I wasn’t happy at Wigan at the time, because I wasn’t playing as much as I wanted to,” said Partington of his family.
“They knew that I needed to play, so they supported me, and they’ll definitely be supporting Salford this season.”
Partington will hope to get back to his best under Salford head coach Paul Rowley, who earned wide praise for the job done in leading the club to the Super League play-offs in his first year in charge.
“I spoke to Paul a few months back now, I like the way he thinks and I’m looking forward to working under him,” said Partington.
“I just want to play with the lads and earn their respect, then hopefully go on to win some big games and try to push them a bit further on this year.”
Partington was dropped from the England Knights squad for their two post-season fixtures after his progress stalled at Wigan.
One of the players to take his place in the squad was new club team-mate Tyler Dupree, the prop completing a fairy-tale year after having started the year as a part-time Championship player at Widnes Vikings.
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