LITTLE more than 12 months ago, Matty Ashton was working on a zero-hours contract playing amateur rugby.
Now he is preparing for life in Super League with Warrington, after the Wolves swooped to sign him following a breathtaking breakout year in the Championship with Swinton, where he finished as the competition’s top try scorer.
He said: “I’m really enjoying it. It’s been a tough pre-season but I’m happy to be here.
“I wake up every morning feeling really grateful that I’m not doing the same old jobs I was doing before, but coming here every day.
“To be a professional rugby league player and be doing something you really love, there’s nothing better really.”
Ashton, 21, has been focusing on bulking up over the off-season, without losing any of the speed that made him such a threat to Championship defences last season.
With the likes of Tom Lineham and Josh Charnley ahead of him in the pecking order at the Wolves, he is going to need to build on his raw pace to establish himself in Super League.
He added: “I’m trying to put a bit of size on, so I’ve just been eating as much as I can, when I can to just build me up a bit more. I know it’s going to be tough.
“Protein shakes, a lot of meat, a lot of carbs and anything I can really. It’s hard putting on weight because you do so much training.
“But I’m doing really well, and I feel a lot stronger and faster already, and hopefully the best is yet to come.”
