North Wales Crusaders have agreed a new one-year deal with hooker Karl Ashall ahead of the 2021 campaign.
Ashall, who is now in his second spell with Crusaders, has racked up 79 appearances for the club to date, crossing for 14 tries in the process.
The 30-year-old first joined North Wales back in 2014 when the club were in the Championship, spending two seasons in Wrexham.
After leaving for Barrow Raiders and plying his trade in Cumbria for a couple of campaigns, Ashall rejoined Crusaders midway through 2018 and has been with the club since.
On his new deal, Ashall said: “It might sound bad, but the lockdown period worked well for me personally as I was injured and it allowed me to concentrate on getting my body back to full fitness.
“I’m now fully fit and can’t wait to get back playing in 2021.
“I’m one of the most senior players now and I enjoy the role that Muzza gives me.
“I relish the opportunity to be able to help some of the other players coming through. It really benefits my own game as well.
“I think we’ve got a good balance in the squad at the minute. We’ve got some players who joined us from the amateur game and then we’ve got players who’ve played in this league for a long time.
“The squad should hopefully be pretty much the same in 2021 so we need to kick on now.”
Crusaders head coach Anthony Murray added: “Karl has a lot of experience and is a real leader so it’s great to have him on board for another season.
“It’ll be great to have him fully fit for next season as we all know what he brings to the club.
“Not only does he offer us a lot on the pitch, but he also loves it here and has real passionate to play for Crusaders.”
