Has Chan played in the backrow at any point in his career?

He plays as a middle rather than an out and out prop.

If we are looking to cover 13 then Thompson and Ellis are the first 2 names we will look at.

I think a bit like Shorrocks, Chan then falls into that position third, possibly fourth behind Havard.

Different style to Shorrocks but Chan has the skills of a middle that transfer between Prop and 13 (playing as a third prop basically).

Good luck to him. He has done a fine job for us in recent seasons. Above anything else, I think it’s the best move for his career and you can’t begrudge him that.

Good luck to the lad. Always put his best foot forward whenever he played.

I can see him turning into one of the cult hero type players at Salford. He's got the tools and engine to big a big player for them.

It's times like theses we need Dan

I’m not so sure we will sign someone to replace him, think we will go with what we have and promote from the academy/reserves if needed.

You'd expect we've now got cap room for a midseason signing if we need to bring someone else in

You just don’t see who we could sign. No quota spots and very difficult to think of a realistic option from the UK.I think we’re fine as we are tbh.

No need for another signing at this point. Best to have cap space in hand

Actually thinking about it. I’d have liked to have seen him stay, with smithies moving on.

Club know what they are doing though.

Enormous work rate, great skill for a forward just missing that size for his carries to be impactful.

Hope he always get a good reception when he plays at Wigan.

Interesting player - always gave 100% but perhaps a jack of all trades and a master of none. Hope he nails down a position at Salford.

Ellis should play 13 for me next year but we also have Thompson, Havard, Isa and maybe Chan to slot in there.

None will be able to match what Smithies brought to us though.

Agree with all of that MD. I always liked Shorrocks and I’m actually glad that he’s prepared to move on for more first team opportunities. Good luck to him

Smithies was developing his passing skills quite nicely and gave us extra options. It will be interesting to see how we adapt without him.

Thanks Jon

I'd disagree with the jack of all trades tag in the sense that he's far better at 13 than any other position, but has the attributes that make him capable of covering various different roles, although none of them to the level he plays at loose forward.

Unfortunately there was a Smithies shaped obstacle in his way throughout his time in the first team. When Smithies had a dip in form in 2021 Shorrocks was Young Player of the Year but then had a bit of second season syndrome the following year, which is when Smithies took his performances to the next level and made loose forward his own.

When Shorrocks played 13 this year he played well but we got nothing out of Smithies at second row (and our right edge looked shaky defensively) and at that time our front row was struggling without Havard and Ellis. It meant the only sensible option was Shorrocks to second row where he doesn't really have the size to make an impact. He's much better running at bigger, less mobile players down the middle than out wide at players who are still bigger than him but also mobile.

It's too easy to shift Shorrocks to other positions and that has cost him a bit in terms of development in his preferred role. I hope he gets a chance at Salford to play 13 regularly and fulfil his potential but my only concern for him is that they tend to have a very small squad and that means a higher likelihood of pulling players out of position to cover absences.

I’ve heard Partington is going to Wire with a cash plus player (Dwyer) deal in place.

If that happens I’d say Shorrocks will be Salfords primary 13.