Featherstone: Walton joins Rovers as the Bulls' player exodus begins

All Bradford’s players became free agents yesterday when the club went bust and Walton is the first to officially move on from Odsal. The ex-Batley Bulldogs player, who made 19 appearances for Super League’s Wakefield Trinity last season, had signed a two-year deal with Bulls where he had spent the off-season.

However, Walton, 26, has now agreed a one-year deal at Post Office Road and said: “It has all happened very fast. I was 90 per cent sure the Bulls were going to survive; we were told a new owner was coming in. That is in the past now, though, and I am very happy to be joining Featherstone. This is a club I have always wanted to play for and am confident I can do well here. I can offer the team a fair bit, I would like to think. I can play in the back-row and in the centres. I cannot wait to get going.”

Featherstone head coach Jon Sharp added: “First and foremost it is a shame what has happened to Bradford and one of the casualties is that players find themselves out of work.

“Jason is one of them and he finds himself looking for another club. We were able to move quickly and we are thrilled to have him here.

“He is a player I have watched closely over the years. He has lots of punch and strike in him and has the potential to become an even better player. We felt as though we needed a little more potency in attack and he is certainly going to bring that.

“We lacked some competition within the squad and Jason coming here adds some of that for us.”