Highly-rated Championship forward gets full-time opportunity following Barrow Raiders exit
Ellis Gillam (right) grapples with Huddersfield Giants' Ashton Golding (left) during a Challenge Cup tie in 2022
Highly-rated Championship ace Ellis Gillam has been handed the opportunity of earning a full-time contract with Toulouse Olympique following his departure from Barrow Raiders.
Gillam – who featured 71 times for Barrow in a three-year stint – left Craven Park at the end of the 2024 campaign ‘in search of full-time opportunities’.
And though he hasn’t officially sealed a permanent contract just yet, Toulouse have given him the chance to – handing the 27-year-old a two-month trial over the course of pre-season.
The forward’s trial starts at the beginning of December and will run until the end of January, when a decision will be made by Olympique as to whether he receives a permanent contract for the 2025 campaign.
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Highly-rated Championship forward gets full-time opportunity following Barrow Raiders exit
Once in Warrington Wolves’ academy, Gillam departed The Halliwell Jones Stadium without making a first-team appearance, with most of his senior career to date spent up in Cumbria.
Making his bow for Whitehaven in February 2018, he went on to don the Marras’ shirt 55 times prior to his move to Barrow in 2022.
The only time he’s spent outside of Cumbria to date came in a 14-game loan stint with Rochdale Hornets in 2019.
But having caught the eye in a struggling Raiders side, he’s now been handed the opportunity to go and earn himself a full-time deal across the Channel.
Gillam said: “I would like to thank Sylvain (Houles, Toulouse head coach) and all those involved for giving me the opportunity to prove myself in such a great club.
“I can’t wait to meet my new team-mates and start training.”
Olympique boss Houles added: “We have been playing against Ellis for many seasons and we have always liked him.
“He is a pillar who plays long minutes, a hard worker and someone who wants to succeed at the highest level, so we decided to give him his chance over the next two months.”
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