Tag: Brodie Croft

RED DEVILS IN DEPTH: ST HELENS V SALFORD

Posted on by David Clegg

It had all looked so promising, and confidence was surely high among the Salford fans, as they travelled over to the Totally Wicked Stadium for their clash with the Saints, on the back of four successive Super League victories, including an extremely rare win over Leeds Rhinos, at Headingley.

The Saints, on the other hand, had had a rather less profitable couple of weeks, and were turning out after having undertaken the somewhat demanding sojourn to the south of France, for their away fixture with Catalans Dragons, all of which were most positive indications for everyone to be encouraged.

 In the end, however, it is all about what happens on the day, and that went contrary to these optimistic expectations, for the Saints had their own expectations and aspirations for the game – the expectations of the current World Club Champions to perform to that level – and took control in the second half to record a 26-12 home victory.

Not that anyone would have even thought that that would happen as the Red Devils turned on the style and swept into a twelve-point lead after only sixteen minutes, with two excellent tries.  The first came in the fifth minute when a totally unexpected, but magnificent, break by prop, King Vuniyayawa, left the Saints defence in his wake, and with the fleet-footed Brodie Croft in support, he fed the stand -off to go in, under the posts.

Andy Ackers it then was, who, eleven minutes later, put Kallum Watkins away down the right and his inside pass to Ryan Brierley saw, along with Marc Sneyd’s second successful conversion attempt, him double the Salford advantage to twelve, which was sufficient for the remaining twenty plus minutes to give them a 6-12 half time lead.

The second half turn around to the home team might lead anyone to regard this as a game of two halves but perhaps, on this occasion an over-simplification, because everything in a game leads on to what follows – more obviously to the more immediate, but also, to an extent, in the longer term.  The loss, for example, of Shane Wright, after a mere few minutes of his introduction denied the team all that he has brought to each game over recent weeks, and also meant that others had to play considerably more minutes, and therefore tired far more quickly as a result.

In fact the roots for this not inconsiderable half time turnaround had been planted during the first half.  There will have been few in attendance or watching tv, on the day, who would have thought, as Sneyd struck the ball to convert Brierley’s try that the Red Devils would fail to add to their score for the remainder of the match, but that was what happened and was something that fed into the St Helens game plan

The visitors had been put under spells of pressure from the outset right through to their first score, and then again between their two tries.  The Salford players had stood up well throughout each of these, as indeed they did throughout some rather more-lengthy spells thereafter, but the fact that these periods of Saints’ dominance became more protracted placed greater and greater demands on the players in terms of energy and concentration.

That these periods soaked up so much time was in part due to the St Helens players’ ability to complete their sets but aided by an increasing number of penalties and set restarts, which went the way of the home side.  Penalties are seldom awarded against teams in possession, the significant  majority are against defenders and, as these defenders start to tire, so their tackling technique suffers and the penalties continue to accrue all the more.

By the time the second half had got underway, the continued Saints’ pressure had started to tell on the Reds, and they immediately conceded yet another penalty, this time whilst in possession, for an incorrect play-the-ball, as early as the third tackle of the half, with a St Helens try coming directly off the back of it.

No-one could possibly question the Red Devils’ effort and commitment at any time during the encounter – without that there was no way they would have limited St Helens to only twenty-six points – but, in the second half, their execution was well below the standards we have become used to, with handling errors from some most wayward of passes seemingly prevalent, and each one presenting the home side with even more possession with which to challenge the Salford defence.

Forthcoming results may well show that in this match St Helens have turned a corner in their season, and that others will find themselves facing the same onslaught of pressure piled upon them, but for Salford players it is important to learn from the outing and fix the elements necessary for a Challenge Cup victory over visiting Huddersfield, next week.

RED DEVILS IN DEPTH: SALFORD V CASTLEFORD

Posted on by David Clegg

Despite another short turn around after their victory over Leigh, the previous Saturday, Salford Red Devils, yet again in front of the television cameras, on Thursday evening, cemented their place in the current top six, with a hard-fought victory over the improving Castleford Tigers.

It is a notable tribute to the team that on the back of their tremendous performances in the later stages of last season, the SKY Sports team have targeted showing the Red Devils’ matches with some quite considerable regularity over the start of this season, and although it was an evening with both defences on top, the team did not disappoint in terms of dedication, effort, and, above all, winning.

True, the scoreline was on the low side, but on a cold evening, in a biting wind, the players did extremely well to produce a performance full of attacking ideas and handling ploys, which on a summer’s day may well have brought about a rather higher return in terms of points.  No-one could deny the quality of their slick inter-passing, which tested the Castleford defence, time and again. They just needed to have retained possession in attack for longer than the solitary sets they produced in order to wear the Tigers’ defence down.

It was therefore down to their defensive effort of limiting the visitors to a solitary try in the third minute and thereafter holding them pointless for the remaining seventy-seven, which brought them the two league points.  It was not necessarily their midfield line-defence which was most noteworthy, more their scrambling defence which brought some absolutely valiant efforts from a number of individuals. 

As early as the 17th minute a magnificent triple effort, started by Sam Stone, and quickly supported by Andy Ackers and Ryan Brierley, prevented a Cas try being scored by Milner thanks to their holding him back, a whisker from the line.  Two minutes from the interval the timely arrival of Tyler Dupree, at full pace, was enough to force Eden onto the touchline, thereby making his considerable athleticism in the subsequent grounding, irrelevant.

Similar efforts continued into the second half, when first, Marc Sneyd’s last ditch tackle on Evalds caused the fullback to lose control of the ball has he sought to ground it between the posts on 49 mins, followed up some 14 mins later by another tackle on Milner just short of the line, this time by Wright, followed by the intervention again of Brierley to prevent his endeavours to roll over and ground the ball over the line.  

There were also some significant pieces of individual skill, which might on occasions go unnoticed, or which we sometimes take for granted.  Joe Burgess’s 8th minute, high level take of the ball in the air, which, on landing, he followed up with a half break through the visitors’ defence to clear the danger, was one such of these, likewise, Kallum Watkins’s midfield sideways run and offload, under pressure, to free up Brierley to continue the build up to Brodie Croft’s try under the posts, on 36 minutes.

Probably most eye-catching of all however was Brierley’s feat of collecting the ball on 52 minutes, behind his own line, to then turn the speedy Eden inside out with some incredible footwork and then cap it all with an offload to Ken Sio, as another Castleford player bore down on him.   Everything about it had the hallmarks of absolute class.

Even Salford’s two-try total could well have been double that, had they been just a little more fortunate.  The referral of Sneyd’s 23rd minute grounding to the video-ref saw it disallowed as it became apparent that, after his short kick through, the ball had bounced up to touch his arm, thus being adjudged as a knock on.  Similarly, 44 minutes into the second half, Sam Stone was denied a try with, this time, Chris Atkin having fumbled a loose ball forward in his attempt to gather it up.

Nevertheless, there was to be no denying the Red Devils for the two tries which were to count.  In what had been their best period that far, spanning the second quarter, it culminated in Brierley racing down the right wing, from Watkins’s pass, to put in the best, and most rewarding, kick of the half, for Croft to take a grasp of it as it stood up beautifully for him to go over for his team’s opener.

Shane Wright has been growing in notoriety over recent weeks having already notched up three tries against Hull (2) and Leigh.  With 56 minutes on the clock, he latched onto Sneyd’s beautifully timed short pass to surge over the line, between the posts and with Sneyd then having converted both tries, he had the opportunity to open up a two score, eight-point, match-winning lead, when Milner was penalised for tackling Ollie Partington without the ball, ten minutes from the end.

RED DEVILS IN DEPTH:  LEIGH V SALFORD (2)

Posted on by David Clegg

Even with a fully fit squad from which to select, it would have been regarded as a considerable achievement for the Salford Red Devils to have gone to the Leigh Sports Village for the second time in only two months, and come back with a victory, for, in the meantime, their hosts have been busily building up quite a reputation for themselves throughout Super League, with impressive victories over a number of sides including current Super League, and World Club, Champions, St Helens.

That, however, was far from the case, since the Red Devils’ squad had been so decimated over the interim period that, to an extent, the team had virtually picked itself, primarily on grounds of availability, thus making this Rivals Round success all the more impressive, and the sweeter.

Even the manner in which the game unfolded presented a number of significant adversities for them, not least the sin-binning of fullback, Ryan Brierley, on 48 mins, and it could not have come at a worse time with the Leopards having returned to the fray, following the half time interval, refreshed and ready to take the game to the Reds, at full steam.

So, as Brierly reluctantly trekked his way across the width of the field, there must have been many hearts in mouths, among the Salford Faithful, many of whom must have been expecting the very worst.  Damage limitation was about as much as one could expect, with the home side’s job having been made all the simpler, with the Reds, as a result, having to hold out for as long as possible against the numerical superiority facing them.

Yet, when the Salford fullback eventually returned to contest it was to an actually increased lead of two extra points, at 10-22, having eradicated Briscoe’s 53rd minute try, and expanded upon it with a Tyler Dupree special under the posts on 58 mins, from Marc Sneyd’s shrewd short pass, which he then converted.

Indeed, apart from hitting the post with his first, touchline attempt, Sneyd’s goalkicking was to prove crucial in the final result, and had they chosen to do so, they could have made their winning margin somewhat greater, with them deciding to run the ball on two late penalties close to the posts, rather than electing to take the kicks.

As might have been expected the Leigh side to took the field, most determined in manner, and although the Red Devils matched them in the opening arm wrestle, a misunderstanding between Danny Addy and King Vuniyayawa presented Leigh with their first attacking opportunity, which they clinically took by opening up an overlap on the left flank for Charnley to cross in the corner for a try, which was eventually increased to six points, five minutes later, with a penalty goal.

As was later to happen on a number of occasions, however, the game began to swing to the opposition, this time towards the Reds with their gaining three back-to-back sets from a combination of a Leigh handling error, penalty, and set restart giving them great field position and ample possession to attack the home line, culminating with a try from Ken Sio, from a typical Brierley kick into the corner.

That proved to herald one of those attacking purple patches which Salford fans had come to enjoy so frequently at the climax to last season, with the Red Devils enjoying plenty more possession to tease Leigh’s line-defence, before some fabulous footwork from second rower, Sam Stone, put him through to score his first points for Salford, against his former club. 

So often, in those halcyon days of summer 2022, it was the back-to-back tries, which sorely hurt opponents back then, and that is just what they served up on this occasion, with what certainly many Salford fans will have thought to be the try of the match.  

It started with man-of-the-match, Chris Atkin, not for the first time this season filling in at three separate positions over his time on field, dummying his way through a gap before handing on to the supporting Shane Wright, who went thirty metres up the field to set up Brodie Croft to sprint the remaining twenty to the posts, with his outpacing all despairing attempts to overhaul him.

Leigh’s second half recovery did narrow their deficit first to 10-16, and later 14-22, and kept them in the game, but the ascendency was, in the main, with the Red Devils, who, with a two-score winning margin could afford to keep their calm, run the clock down and keep the pressure on the Leopards.

Leigh’s final, last minute try, came far too late for it to make any difference to the outcome, with a mere eleven seconds left, at the final restart.  They had, nevertheless, contributed to an enthralling contest, which had ebbed and flowed from one to the other, and there is clearly little between the two sides, as the results of both encounters show. This is all to the good for both clubs and their fans, engendering a greater interest, and degree of competitiveness, in the locality, which will be continued once more, as the intensity of the competition for top six places hots up, just in time for their visit to the Salford Stadium, in mid-July.

RED DEVILS IN DEPTH: SALFORD V HUDDERSFIELD

Posted on by David Clegg

Not for nothing is it known as an arm wrestle – that locking of horns of two evenly matched sides, going head-to-head and set-for-set with each other, as they battle for ascendency over each other, with no quarter asked nor given.  Winning an arm wrestle can be hugely advantageous, giving one of them a foothold in the opposition’s red zone, complete with a set of possession with which to launch an attack.

So evenly were the Red Devils and their visitors, Huddersfield, matched, last Sunday, that the whole game seemed like a series of arm wrestles with precious little respite for the participants as each side completed their sets error-free for what seemed like swathes of time, at any one go.

All of this became apparent as early as the first set, which, with only the slightest of interruptions on five minutes following the forming of a scrum after a Salford touch-in-flight, otherwise continued for a full ten minutes, until a wayward pass on the Red Devils line gifted the visitors the opening try.

The lack of handling errors was most pleasing to both coaches, with Salford coach, Paul Rowley, praising his side’s completion rate, and by the very nature of an arm-wrestle, one can feel confident that the Giants’ will have been somewhat similar. 

As a result, the breaks in play inevitably came from lapses in defence, predominantly via penalties.  Indeed, it was from a pair of back-to-back, Huddersfield, defensive indiscretions that the Red Devils opened their account on thirty minutes, not from a flamboyant, slick handling move, but from a direct, Brodie Croft carry, from which he fed the supporting Shane Wright, who shrugged off a couple of attempts to tackle him, to score to the right of the posts, from where Marc Sneyd the extra two points to reduce their arears at 6-8.

If only the Reds could have kept the half-time score differential to those two points, the eventual outcome might have been quite different, for they had had a period of domination following the introduction of fresh legs from the bench between the twenty to thirty minute mark, and this was followed up at the start of the second half with Matty Costello going over, on 48 mins in the corner for a try which would then have put them in front, after the ball had been moved along the line to the left through five pairs of hands, following a penalty which had given them an additional set.

As it was though, they had been caught out, three minutes before the interval, by Huddersfield’s change of tactic on the final tackle, when, instead of the expected end-of-set kick, they decided to run the ball, and created an overlap on their right flank to score between the posts for what could, arguably, be considered to be the match-determining try.

With the advantage of having been first to score, the Giants had the option of being able to turn kickable penalties directly into points, by going for goal as a means of increasing their lead, having already done so once, mid-way through the first half.  Consequently, on 54 minutes, with a four-point advantage, at 10-14, they took the opportunity from their second, to extend their lead to six. 

With an ever-increasing injury list, and the absence of a number of key players, it is unsurprising that the level of intensity began to take its toll on the Reds, in terms of both mental and physical tiredness, thus enabling the visitors to take advantage of one of Salford’s few handling errors on 65 mins, to double their lead to twelve points and then ten minutes later turn it into sixteen.

It is much to the credit of the Salford players, that despite there being only five minutes remaining, they continued to battle to the bitter end and were successful in narrowing the score to 16-26, with what was probably their most adventurous and clinical attacking move of the afternoon, which ended with skipper Kallum Watkins going over towards the right-hand corner, and Sneyd converting.

RED DEVILS IN DEPTH: WIGAN V SALFORD

Posted on by David Clegg

Many have been the times in the past when Salford fans, making their homeward journey from the DW Stadium, would have embraced a scoreline of only a four points deficit, as a considerable success, in comparison with the hefty defeats of yester-year.  How times have changed in the fortunes of the Red Devils, and the expectations we fans now have of them, when so many of us will, last Friday, have travelled home feeling disappointed at not having won.

For make no mistake, this was a game that was within the team’s grasp of victory, during which they challenged and contested their hosts in every quarter, taking charge of proceedings after the first ten minutes, to go in at the interval, somewhat unrepresentatively, level at 8-8.  And they then went on to take something of a stranglehold on the game as they built up a 16-8 lead over the mighty home-side, until a combination injured and fatigued bodies were unable to up muster sufficient resistance to cling onto that lead.

Salford fans’ disappointment can only be with the result, for in every other aspect of the game they can have nothing but pride in their side’s commitment, dedication, and performance throughout the encounter, for the teams were so evenly balanced that they went head-to-head with each other throughout, in a battle of great intensity and tremendous speed.  Fast, furious, and even, at times, frantic was how it had developed by half time.

It was the home side, as one might expect, who were first to settle, after gaining possession from the kick-off, but for all their retaining of it for the greater part of the opening ten minutes had only a fifth minute penalty goal to show for it.

Having therefore soaked up all the pressure thrown at them to that point, the Red Devils found the opportunity to turn defence into attack, in the 14th minute, when good progress down the left flank ended with their forcing a goal-line drop-out which gave them the opportunity to set up the opening try of the game for Ken Sio.

Great credit has justifiably been given to the individual prowess of French, on Wigan’s right flank, and indeed his two-try contribution proved to be a key factor in the result, but equally so were the skills shown by the two Salford players who proved so key in the visitors’ scores.  In this one it was fullback, Ryan Brierley, who put in a neat little kick into the corner for Sio,  while, unbelievably, in the act of being tackled and totally off-balance, before ending up lengthways along the ground.

The about-turn in fortunes certainly had a positive effect on the Salford players, who continued to muscle up against their hosts’ efforts to regain control, but it was not until nearly on the half hour that French’s slick dummy opened up the first crack in the Salford defence to put them back in front.

Five minutes later, the Reds came oh-so-close to eradicating this score, when Joe Burgess was put in the clear down the left wing, only to be thwarted by a tremendous cover tackle by Field, which possibly could be claimed to have saved the game for Wigan, for normally we would have backed Burgess to have got round to grounding under the posts.

One most surprising aspect of the game, far more prevalent than usual throughout the half, was the number of ball steals, normally limited to around one per game, but which on this occasion, mounted up to four in the one half alone, three of which were won by the Reds.  Joe Burgess and Tim Lafai did well to effect theirs but that of King Vuniyayawa, on Field, was so deft and swift that spectators were left wondering how on earth he had managed it, but with all three giving the team much extra possession.

Points-wise though it was a case of having to be satisfied with a successful Marc Sneyd penalty goal to tie the score 8-8, at half time, with even his last-minute drop-goal attempt drifting wide.  Usually, a draw at half-time feels satisfying to both sides, but, on balance of play, field position, and possession, the Salford fans could have been forgiven in feeling that their favourites really deserved to be in front.

This confidence throughout the team was still quite evident on the restart, as they continued to apply pressure, and it was Brodie Croft, this time, who supplied that mark of genius to deliver the most outstanding pass of the game for Sio’s second try.  Sneyd’s excellent goal-kicking, two of which were from the touchline, increased their lead to eight points, by 55 mins.

The aforementioned combination of mounting injuries, which consequently prevented further adequate interchanges,  and fatigue caused by increasingly limited possession, saw momentum swing to the opposition not from set-restarts, as so often happens, but from a mix of four penalties, two touched-in-flights, and started by a French’s interception of a Salford pass.

Suddenly, the Warriors had an abundance of possession and the remainder of the game was spent largely with them on the attack in the Salford half, and the Red Devils forced solely into one-up carries as they endeavoured to lay, in vain, the basis for on attack of their own.

The outcome of a second show-and-go by French, followed by the final decisive try from King, brought the points to the home-side, but they had had to battle the whole game before eventually gaining the upper hand.

RED DEVILS IN DEPTH: HULL V SALFORD

Posted on by David Clegg

Just over twelve months ago, in Round 3, after an encouraging, winning start to the ’22 season, the Salford Red Devils were brought down to earth with a bump by a comprehensive defeat at Hull, which consequently made it all the more gratifying to return there over this weekend, and repay them, and with considerable interest.

On the back of two disappointing defeats, both of which had been in encounters they could have won, their travelling faithful might have been forgiven for expecting something similar, as they made the journey over the Pennines, but, on this occasion their anxieties were to prove totally unfounded.

Although caught cold in the opening exchanges, with Hull scrum half, Clifford, deploying a show-and-go to cross for four points after just three minutes’ play, this proved a mere hiccup, as the Red Devils simply set-to to stamp their authority on the game, and within only three minutes they had actually got in front.

On only the second play from the restart, an incredible break by Marc Sneyd saw him hand on to the supporting Ryan Brierley who was stopped close to the left touchline fifteen metres out, and from his quick play-the-ball five pairs of hands propelled the ball to Deon Cross who grounded for the try, ten metres in from the right touchline. 

Sneyd’s successful conversion, from a highly similar position to Clifford’s earlier, failed attempt, put the visitors in front, and in that fifteen second period of play we had microcosm of what started to unfold as the game.

First, we had Sneyd’s unexpected, but telling break, which was to be the first of many he, in particular, and other play-makers, Brodie Croft, Andy Ackers and Chris Atkin made to wreak havoc in the home side’s defensive structures.  Indeed, Sneyd later turned this into a solo effort, when, in the 51st minute, he cut through from 15 metres out, to score under the posts.

Then we had the excellent support play of fullback, Brierley, in which he excels regularly, but to be joined in so doing, on this occasion, by many others to keep the second wave of attack in evidence and so frequently leading to tries.  He was soon among the try scorers, himself, as a result of getting alongside Croft, on the initial break, to score under the posts, in the eighteenth minute, crucially putting Salford three scores ahead, at 4-18.

Those five pairs of hands which accurately, and tellingly, got the ball to where the space was, on that first occasion, was to be replicated in many other attacks, and with such considerable variation in the form they each took, that the Hull defenders began to look completely bewildered by what was going on around them, seemingly unable to stem the flow of attacks and waves of tries which were mounting up.  Spectators could but marvel at the incredible display served up for their entertainment.

The fact that it was Cross, rather than Ken Sio, who got over for that first grounding was to herald something of a dearth of try-scoring opportunities, for both wingers, throughout the afternoon.  They contributed much in other aspects, however, particularly in diffusing high bombs to the corners and returning the ball up field on collection, without any errors.

As for the tries, so effective was the passing and support play throughout, that the try line presented itself to the inside strike players so quickly that it was the players just inside, who took the lions’ share, with Cross and co-centre, Tim Lafae each notching up a brace, as did second rower, Shane Wright.  Fellow second rower, Kallum Watkins, also crossed for one, on 45 mins. Lafae’s first, on 53 mins, must surely have ranked as the try of the game.

Finally, Salford went in front from that first try thanks to Sneyd’s accuracy with the boot, and this continued throughout the game, with his slotting over ten out of twelve shots, which compared most favourably with Hull’s solitary one from three.

Muted fears, during the interval, that the second half would see a turnaround in fortunes never materialised, for the simple reason that, unlike at Warrington where the Wolves received the ball direct from the second-half kick-off to generate some momentum, on Saturday it was the Red Devils who received it, and within fifty seconds had extended their lead even further, courtesy of Cross’s second try.

And so it continued for the following twenty minutes as their score was ramped up to fifty, but it was not only their attack which flourished.  They backed this up with some excellent defence, the highlight of which was the twenty-second minute, try-saving tackle by Sio and Brierley, both of whom seemed to fly across from nowhere to bundle Swift into touch, when he looked for all the world a certain scorer.

Hull just could not match the Reds in any of this.  Much has been said of their defence, and Tyler Dupree’s rampaging try, immediately after this incident, has been held up as evidence.  What this ignores, however, is that Tyler, most shrewdly, had picked a small gap to run at, and through, and the mismatch in size against other one-on-one challengers enabled him to brush them aside with ease.

So much, therefore, for the fans who had made the journey there, to revel in, on their return.  For the team, it was not only a return to winning ways, but also a return to the amazing form they had last shown in the final third of last season, and this coming Sunday’s visit from Wakefield gives them an opportunity to showcase their many skills to all their home fans.

RED DEVILS IN DEPTH: SALFORD V HULL KR

Posted on by David Clegg

It was such a promising opening, with the Red Devils starting with a splendid display of wide, expansive, attacking rugby, which had become so familiar to the Salford fans in the later stages of last season, but which had been absent in the previous week’s visit to the Leigh Sports Village.

Yet here it was again in what was only Round 2 of the new season, in all its exciting, entertaining spectacle, from the very first set when swift hands put right winger, Ken Sio, in space, and the visiting Hull KR players were desperately having to scramble back to prevent an early setback.

When, at the end of their back-to-back sets, they forced the first of two goal-line drop-outs, it seemed only a matter of time before they went in front.  It turned out to be just ten minutes, with their attack being restarted by the second of the drop-outs, and ended with a wide pass to Sio, who scored in the corner.

Although Marc Sneyd’s conversion attempt failed to find the mark, there was little doubt in anyone’s mind that there would be more on the way, and indeed for the next ten minutes the Red Devils continued to dominate possession and field position, though with no further points to add to the scoreboard.

The game started to change a little around the twentieth minute, with back-to-back penalties gaining good field position to enable the visitors to test the Salford defence, and although they did not get anything to show for it immediately, they seemed to grow in stature and confidence, as a result.

In truth, four points after such a protracted period of Salford dominance seemed scant reward for their efforts, as they had had sufficient possession and position to have added at least one, if not more, scores, which would probably have dispirited the visitors somewhat had they been able to do so.  As it was. their self-belief that they could contain the threat their hosts posed grew, and inspired them to further effort.

Consequently, when Sio, as he is wont to do, intercepted a Hull pass to his wing, his progress was arrested before he could even get into his stride and the team then had the task of taking the ball up the field, tackle by tackle.  They also seemed to make heavy weather of the increasing amount of defending they were required to do.

The Robins’ pack is quite an imposing group, all of whom are capable of making their mark on any game – a victory over the Wigan Warriors, as they had achieved in round 1, is no mean fete – and they started to gain the ascendency, not just on the attack where they drove forward relentlessly, but also on defence, where they harried and hassled the normally rampant Reds into an increasing number of hurried and wayward passes.

The writing was clearly on the wall, when, on 32 mins, the referee was forced to refer a Robins’ grounding to  the video referee, and, although this was ruled out, it merely portended what was to come after the interval.  It will surely have been the away dressing-room, which will have been the more satisfied, over the recess, and they continued where they left off, after the resumption.

Salford’s best moment of the second half came on 54 minutes, when they were stung into a response to Hull’s two-try opening to the half, by overcoming the less productive of some of their more recent attacking forays, with slick hands putting Deon Cross over for their second try, to put themselves to within two points of the visitors.

Twice within five minutes, Salford were denied possible further tries.  A referral to the video referee ruled out Sio’s grounding in the corner, on 56 mins, with Brodie Croft being ruled offside prior to his involvement, and then on 70 mins. A ball steal by Tim Lafai led to another attack along the line to the right wing, where Cross, this time, just had a bit too much to do to get over the line for what would have been his own second score.

Hull, however, had no such problems in adding to their score with further tries on 57 and 72 mins, as Salford continued to fail to muscle up to the continued pressure on their defence.  Deserved, Man of the Match, Ollie Partington had led the way in how to deal with this, and it is likely there will be work done upon this element for others, in the coming days.

RED DEVILS IN DEPTH: LEIGH V SALFORD

Posted on by David Clegg

For the many travelling Salford fans who made the short journey to Leigh Sports Village, last Friday, the memory of a truly splendid evening will last well into the near future, with pre-match entertainment, to celebrate the relaunch of the home club as Leigh Leopards whilst coinciding with their return to Super League, being of the highest calibre anyone could expect.  That Salford Red Devils were the team to share in the tremendous atmosphere which consequently ensued was something which the players will relish for some little time to come.

And the game itself did not disappoint.  True, there was little in the way of slick expansive rugby, but this is February, and the going underfoot is quite soft and inhibiting in this respect. The tight, finely balanced encounter which unfolded in its place, was most enthralling, keeping everyone’s attention rivetted on the spectacle unfolding, with the result in the balance right to the closing couple of minutes.

This was thanks to the high quality of skills on view from both teams, which led to high completion rates for both, though with Salford’s being the greater, and with unforced errors relatively few and far between, thus enabling continuity of play for good spells.

The Red Devils’ superiority in this area was probably down to their prior Super League experience and to the bulk of the team having played together last season, unlike the Leigh side which was assembled for the first time during the close season  In addition, the individual player’s commitment to, knowledge of, and efficacy in undertaking their own particular role was top level, as most easily exemplified by three or four who really caught the eye.

Man of the Match, Ryan Brierley’s contribution to the victory came just as much from two try-saving, second-half tackles on Charnley and Lam together with his unwavering courage and ability to defuse four extremely testing, high bombs, in the final fifteen minutes – thereby securing pressure-relieving possession for the Reds, at such a crucial time – as it came from his attacking involvement and fiftieth minute try.

Pound for pound, Rhys Williams’s involvement will have matched pretty well anyone’s, with his sideways runs in which he evaded tackle after tackle, so often ensuring that the team would not get hemmed into corners, at the start of their sets, whilst debutant, Ollie Partington had class written all over everything he did.

As he often does with this goal-kicking, Marc Sneyd had a hundred percent success rate, which was double that of his opposite kicker.  Yes, three of the were from in front of the posts, but the first of them was from out wide, and still needed kicking in order to provide that important, comfortable two-scores lead the Reds enjoyed for most of the second half, particularly when they were down to twelve men for ten minutes, and also during that  nervy final quarter, in which Leigh threw everything they had, at them.

If there were an area in which they were outdone by their hosts, it was in their discipline, which let them down in the first half which ended with a 4:1 penalty count against them.  A baptism of fire with which they had plagued the home side for the first eight minutes was eventually brought to an end by a penalty early in a tackle count, and with that the momentum of the game swung right over to the Leopards. 

Their first attack fizzled out owing to a handling error, but their second penalty was compounded by a set-restart which culminated with their winning the first of two goal-line drop-outs, which both provided them further sets, and, consequently, further waves of attack..

In the end though it is tries which count, and the Red Devils got through the twenty-minute spell by conceding only one in the twenty-first minute from Lam’s wide pass out to Charnley.  Their dogged, hard-working defence throughout this period played a significant part in procuring the eventual outcome.  Once they restored momentum to themselves, by means of possession and field position, they were able to deliver the counter-punch by means of three well-taken tries around half time.

Brodie Croft, as always, was the springboard for the first on 34 mins, when he put Kallum Watkins through on the charge to the line, and similarly Brierley on 49 mins.  In between, the irrepressible Andy Ackers caught out Leigh’s loss of concentration around the ruck, two minutes before half-time, to scoot over and ground between the posts, despite the Leopards’ attempts to deny him.  They, for their part, were able to take advantage of Marc Sneyd’s sinbinning, with Hardaker’s penalty try on 59 mins, setting up a nail-biting final quarter.

A most satisfying result, therefore, to get the team a winning start to 2023, and one which hopefully they can build upon in the coming weeks, starting with this coming Thursday’s eagerly awaited, first home fixture with Hull KR – one of the very few teams to take all four points against the Red Devils, in 2022.  It is time, and opportunity, to redress the balance.

BRODIE CROFT SIGNS HISTORIC LONG-TERM CONTRACT WITH SALFORD RED DEVILS

Posted on by Harry Siddall

We’re delighted to announce Brodie Croft has signed a historic new long-term contract with Salford Red Devils, keeping him at the Club until 2030.

By keeping hold of one of the competitions finest and most sought after players, the Red Devils have shown their intention to build on the incredible progress made by the team in 2022 and aim even higher in 2023.

The Australian halfback joined the Club in August 2021 and has gone from strength to strength under the tutelage of Paul Rowley.

Across 2022, Croft produced stunning performance after stunning performance to climb the Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel charts. A particularly strong ending to the season propelled Salford into a playoff position and secured the coveted award ahead of Wigan Warriors’ Jai Field and St Helens’ Jack Welsby.

That was just one of countless individual honours the 25-year-old amassed in his debut campaign.

He was presented with the prestigious Albert Goldthorpe Medal before our playoff eliminator against Huddersfield Giants – an award held in high esteem across the rugby league community.

At the Club’s annual awards evening, Croft’s incredible efforts were recognised by picking up the Coaches Player, the Players’ Player and the Supporters Player of the Year.

His 32 try contributions across the year also earned him a spot in the Betfred Super League Dream Team alongside Red Devils teammates, Ken Sio and Tim Lafai.

On signing his long-term deal, Croft said: “I’m delighted to extend my time at Salford.

“This group of boys is something special and along with the coaching staff through to the performance staff and office staff, I’m excited at what the future holds for the club!

“The playing group, staff and myself are delighted that Brodie shares our vision and ambition for success and we get the chance to continue to work together going forward.”

“He’s a fantastic role model for our young supporters and a person who drives standards on and off the field. We are all very proud of the player and person Brodie is and look forward to playing a part in his career going forward.”

Director of Rugby and Operations, Ian Blease added: “After some months of robust negotiations, I am absolutely delighted in securing Brodie’s long-term future at our club.

“We are determined to keep our best players and the current team together for as long as possible and securing Brodie’s long-term deal meets our determination.

“It is a real statement of intent to secure such a long-term deal for our club and for such a quality player, in my view, it also demonstrates that Brodie believes our philosophy and vision as a club

 “As a player Brodie has been welcomed by our fans, similar to how they welcomed Jackson Hastings into our club in 2018/19. Brodie has had a magnificent first season in Super League, culminating in winning the Man of Steel award and can now hopefully settle down to play his best rugby with the Red Devils.

“I believe we are building a legacy to admire at this club and the future is one that we are all as a team so excited to be a part of!”

Croft has committed his long-term future to Salford Red Devils. Be a part of it; get behind him and the rest of the team by buying your 2023 season ticket HERE.

RED DEVILS IN DEPTH: SALFORD V SWINTON PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY

Posted on by David Clegg

Salford Red Devils opened their 2023 season, on Sunday afternoon, with what in the end turned out to be a remarkably close 26-22 winning scoreline in the first of their pre-season friendlies, against traditional local rivals, Swinton, winners last week in a friendly over St Helens reserves, to retain Peter Smethurst Trophy for another season.

The well-known phrase ‘a game of two halves’ was taken to a new level, for, in truth, it was almost a case of two separate games of forty minutes, either side of half time.  The only elements common to both were the opposition, the progressing scoreline, and three first team players, whose game-time straddled the interval.

With the first choice Red Devils taking complete control during the first half, it was always going to be a case as to whether the 26-0 half time lead, which the players from the Reserves inherited to defend for the second stanza, would be sufficient for them to hold out against their well-organised and enthusiastic opponents from the Championship.  That they were successful in doing so was ultimately down to their dogged defensive efforts, which kept the Lions pointless, until the fiftieth minute.

Indeed, it has to be said that they came closer to scoring, a few minutes later, than their opponents had done in the first half, only for the final pass to be ruled as forward.  A try at that moment would have been a real boost for them, and could have led to a less nervy, final few minutes.  In the end it was a single player being in the right place at the right time, which prevented Swinton scoring on the death, by causing Scott Mikalauskas to blow for obstruction.

All of which was in stark contrast with the expected domination of the Salford first team, who opened their account as early as the third minute, with Rhys Williams crossing for a try in the left corner goaled by Mark Sneyd from the touch line.  They then went on to score at almost regular intervals, aided by a good supply of possession, which was assisted, at times, by the Lions’ ill-timed attempts at stealing the ball, none of which went unnoticed by the referee.

Swinton’s best spell of that half was in the second quarter, when they gained rather more possession and were able to test out the home side’s defence.  That this stood firm mid-field consequently prevented the Lions getting too close to become any real threat, and this is a facet of the Reds’ game which will be have to stand much greater tests in the coming weeks and months.

When in possession, the Red Devils showed that they still have the same flair to entertain as they had had in the latter stages of last season, producing some thrilling skilful handling and running, from which the tries flowed.  True there were errors, and that was only to be expected with a small number of debutants in the side, on a cold afternoon, and a slippery ball, but these will diminish as the whole squad gels together and the weather improves.

Their final score, in the 37th minute, was a fine example of how the whole team was keen and capable of keeping the ball alive and supporting one another, with no less than six players inter-passing for Ryan Brierley to finish off with a sixpointer.

The vital half back pairing, which, by the end of last season was probably the best in Super League, was seen to be at the heart of much of the Salford attacking ploys, not least in the run-up to their second try, on 9 mins.  Sneyd’s probing, cross-field run, across the visitors’ line, sucked in the defence and his quick play-the-ball gave Brodie Croft the opportunity to send out a wonderful, long pass which found Ken Sio on the touch line to go in at the corner.

So, an overall enjoyable and successful afternoon for everyone, with Swinton gaining satisfaction from their endeavours throughout, though most evidently in the later stages of the match.  Salford’s first team players gained some invaluable game-time together, while the Reserves had the experience of performing in front of a much larger crowd than they will usually encounter, and against professional opposition.

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