Talking Points | Huddersfield Giants 14-34 Salford Red Devils

Salford Red Devils opened their 2019 Betfred Super League season with an impressive victory over Huddersfield Giants at the John Smith’s Stadium and there were plenty of talking points from the game.

Dangerous left-hand side

The Red Devils ran in seven tries in their 14-34 victory with five coming down the left-hand side. Two of Niall Evaldsโ€™ three tries were down the left-hand flank while Junior Saโ€™u opened the scoring and Ken Sio grabbed a brace on his debut on the same side.
Jackson Hastings and Evalds combined on numerous occasions throughout the game after quick ball from the likes of Greg Burke, Mark Flanagan and Joey Lussick. Evalds was the standout performer cutting through the Giants line on numerous occasions as well as setting up one of Sioโ€™s two tries.


Saโ€™u had to leave the field midway through the first half with a rib injury with Jansin Turgut moving into the centres. The Turkish international looked just as comfortable as Saโ€™u as he set up the first of Sioโ€™s double.

Mossopโ€™s massive minutes

In his post-match press conference, Head Coach Ian Watson pointed to Captain Lee Mossop as a massive contributor to the victory as the prop-forward played sixty minutes for the Red Devils.

Mossop was a constant presence in the middle of the park. The former England international got through a lot of hard yards while keeping a powerful Giants pack quiet for the most part.ย 

Huddersfield โ€“ Happy hunting groundย 

Last nightโ€™s victory marked the sixth consecutive victory at the John Smithโ€™s Stadium for the Red Devils. It is also now the third consecutive season in which Salfordโ€™s first away victory of the Betfred Super League season has come at the John Smithโ€™s Stadium.


It is also Salfordโ€™s first victory in Round One of the Betfred Super League since 2014 when the Red Devils overcame Wakefield Trinity 18-14 at the The Salford Stadium.

The away following

The Salford Red Devils faithful turned out in strong numbers for the opening game of the 2019 Betfred Super League season with both Ian Watson and Niall Evalds praising the following from the supporters.


The away following was extremely similar to that of last seasonโ€™s trip to Halifax and were loud and proud throughout. The Red Devils host London Broncos on Sunday 10th February and will be looking for some more terrific support.

Ian Watson | “There were large parts I was really pleased with”

Salford Red Devils got their 2019 Betfred Super League season off to the perfect start with a 14-34 victory over Huddersfield Giants at the John Smith’s Stadium.ย 
We got the thoughts of Head Coach Ian Watson on the performance, standout performers and the Red Devils fans.

On the victoryโ€ฆ

โ€œWe looked a lot at ourselves in the week leading up to this game rather than looking at Huddersfield. We wanted to build on what weโ€™ve been working on in pre-season and our pre-season friendlies to make sure that we were good and there were large parts of the game which Iโ€™m really pleased with. I thought if we had executed a little better in the first half, we could have put some more points on in that first period.โ€

On the fluidity in attackโ€ฆ

โ€œHaving a spine to work with for the full pre-season has been a big plus for us. They were all very keen to get back over after The Qualifiers last year โ€“ Rob Lui, Jackson Hastings and Joey Lussick โ€“ everyone wanted to be back for the first day of pre-season. We are really happy with where we are, but we know weโ€™ve got improvement in us as a group as well.โ€

On Junior Saโ€™uโ€™s injuryโ€ฆ

โ€œHeโ€™s done his ribs. Weโ€™ll have to see where he is as we go throughout the week but at the moment it looks unlikely, he will play against London Broncos next week.โ€

On the left edgeโ€ฆ

โ€œI thought Niall Evalds was really good and then obviously Ken Sio attracts defenders. On the second to last try the defenders didnโ€™t know whether to go for Niall or Ken. The directness of Jackson and the way heโ€™s playing into the line as well stands defenders up and frees our guys up.โ€

On Lee Mossopโ€ฆ

โ€œI donโ€™t like to single individuals out, but Iโ€™d like to give a big shout to Lee Mossop who did sixty minutes in the front-row and probably could have gone a bit longer, but we felt the game was won at that point. There arenโ€™t many front-rowers who can do that in the game. Last year was a big year for Lee Mossop in getting as much game time as possible following on from his surgery.โ€

On the Salford Red Devils fansโ€ฆ

โ€œThey were outstanding โ€“ we always seem to bring them to Huddersfield. Hopefully on the back of the win this week and the tries we scored they can come back to the The Salford Stadium next week against London Broncos to kick us on. Thereโ€™s a really good feeling around the Club at the moment with the squad, supporters and community links weโ€™re building so hopefully itโ€™ll all fall into place for a strong crowd next week against London.โ€
The full press conference can be seen below:

 

Salford Red Devils 2019 Season Tickets are stillย available to purchase from the Club Ticket Office, over theย phone on 0161 786 1570 or online HERE.You can spread the cost via Direct Debit payments, for more details, click HERE.

Ian Watson | “Weโ€™ve got options to manoeuvre things about”

Salford Red Devils Head Coach Ian Watson spoke to the press following a 18-28 defeat to Wigan Warriors in a pre-season friendly. Hereโ€™s what he had to say on a range of topics post-match.ย 

On the game and facing Wiganโ€ฆ

Yeah it was brilliant. It was exactly what we wanted with the lift in intensity. We knew Wigan would bring that, having the game against Swinton last week got us back into gameplay with the fitness and contact elements and then against Wigan we knew it was about coming against the intensity weโ€™ll have to face week in and week out in the Super League. It was perfect preparation for us.

On Jackson Hastings leaving the field earlyโ€ฆ

He just had a little twinge from the Swinton game, so we didnโ€™t want to overwork him. To be fair, he did more than we expected today because he was feeling good, so we worked off him. We didnโ€™t want to risk anybody we didnโ€™t need to. Obviously, Jackson is an important part of our team.

On Ed Chamberlainโ€™s injuryโ€ฆ

Ed looks like heโ€™s the one who may have sustained a syndesmosis or something like that, so we just need to get that checked out. A syndesmosis can be any length of time out depending on how bad the grade is. It could be up to twelve weeks, but weโ€™ll see where he is and hopefully itโ€™s not that bad.

On Rob Lui leaving the field earlyโ€ฆ

Robbie is fine. He just clashed with Jansin Turgut in a tackle. He had another minute to do, I think he just wanted to come off there. He knew how long he had left to do so he came off a little bit earlier than we wanted him to.

On knowing his starting side for Huddersfieldโ€ฆ.

I more or less know it. With our group weโ€™ve been able to build it over a couple of years in what we want with the characters in our team and how we want to play. Weโ€™ve been able to recruit a little bit better this year in terms of the players whoโ€™ve weโ€™ve had to choose from. Weโ€™ve brought players in who can play the way we want to, and weโ€™re really pleased with the guys weโ€™ve brought in.

On Niall Evaldsโ€™ versatility…

I thought Niall was outstanding. He was a little bit like a Darren Lockyer out there playing full-back and stand-off. Heโ€™s really developed again this year. Weโ€™re just covering bases a little bit and looking at a few things because we need to deal with it if we get an injury to a half or a nine throughout the season. I thought Niall and Rob linked up well and we even had Greg Burke at hooker with Joey Lussick in the halves at one point. Weโ€™ve got options to manoeuvre things about which is important for us at a Club that doesnโ€™t have the biggest of squads.

On Connor Davies-Aspeyโ€ฆ

Connor has been brilliant. His is a bit more of baby steps as he still has a lot of developing to do. I think the progression will be probably looking to play at Championship or maybe League One, if thereโ€™s a side whoโ€™ll take a shot on him. He just needs to develop. Thatโ€™s the difference between the U19โ€™s and Reserves now. Years ago, there were a lot of 16-year-olds who could come through and play first team because theyโ€™d played against men already. Connorโ€™s first game against men was last weekend against Swinton. I had to be very careful as there were a few occasions I could have thrown him on but with the likes of Tony Clubb Joe Greenwood, Liam Farrell and Ben Flower who are physical and big specimens to have thrown Connor in front of those would have been a big ask. He just needs to develop his path the right way.
 

Salford Red Devils 2019 Season Tickets are stillย available to purchase from the Club Ticket Office, over theย phone on 0161 786 1570 or online HERE.You can spread the cost via Direct Debit payments, for more details, click HERE.

Talking Points | Salford Red Devils 18-28 Wigan Warriors

Salford Red Devils fell to defeat in their second pre-season fixture of 2019 against Wigan Warriors at the The Salford Stadium. However, there were still some promising talking points from the game.

First look at Ken

Ken Sio made his first appearance for the Red Devils since his off-season move from NRL side Newcastle Knights and was one of a few standout performers for Ian Watsonโ€™s side.
It took Sio just four minutes to get onto the scoresheet for Salford as he met Jackson Hastingsโ€™ low kick to the corner. The winger continued to impress bringing the ball back from deep within the Red Devils half throughout the game.
Following Hastings and Luiโ€™s departures from the field, Niall Evalds moved into the halves with Sio slotting in at full-back where he looked equally as comfortable. The powerful Australian offers versatility in the back-line with the ability to play full-back, winger and centre which will only benefit Salford throughout 2019.
There is a strong competition for places across the back line with the likes of Jake Bibby, Ed Chamberlain, Derrell Olpherts, Kris Welham, Greg Johnson, Junior Saโ€™u and Evalds but Sio has certainly put his name forward to start away at Huddersfield in just under a fortnight.

Energetic Evaldsย 

In last week’s talking points, following victory over Swinton Lions, we mentioned the versatility of some of Salfordโ€™s key players, one of which was Niall Evalds who moved into the halves. In the defeat to Wigan, the England Knight once again was moved into the halves when Hastings and Lui left the field.
Evalds is blessed with blistering speed and fantastic ball handling ability which made him a handful for the Wigan defence once he moved into the halves. He directly assisted Jake Bibbyโ€™s try in the second half before also being involved in the build-up play to Derrell Olphertsโ€™ late score.
While the Red Devils will be looking to Lui and Hastings to occupy the half-back slots throughout the season, Evalds is certainly showing he has the capability to take up the mantle if necessary. Ian Watson even went as far as saying Evalds reminded him of Darren Lockyer, to watch Ian Watson’s full post-match press conference, click here.

Shot clockย 

The 2019 season will see the introduction of the shot clock โ€“ which has been massively successful Down Under โ€“ and it was in play for the first time at the The Salford Stadium against Wigan Warriors.
Two shot clocks have been installed at the The Salford Stadium in the South and North stands. These will countdown to encourage teams to pack scrums and take goal line drop-outs quicker.
Both sides packed down and took goal line drop-outs within the allotted time throughout the game however conversions โ€“ which arenโ€™t yet being enforced โ€“ did often go over the allotted time limit more often than not.
It will certainly be interesting to see how teams โ€“ including the Red Devils โ€“ adapt to the new rules and the positive effects it will have on the Betfred Super League.
 
Salford Red Devils 2019 Season Tickets are stillย available to purchase from the Club Ticket Office, over theย phone on 0161 786 1570 or online HERE.You can spread the cost via Direct Debit payments, for more details, click HERE.

Event | Salford RLFC Supporters’ Trust to host annual meeting

The annual meeting of the Salford RLFC Supportersโ€™ Trust is set to take place tomorrow at Chandos Sports & Social Club at 7pm.
Salford Red Devils Head Coach Ian Watson and Assistant Coach Martin Gleeson will be in attendance as well as halfback duo Rob Lui and Jackson Hastings and Club Director Paul King.
They will all join for a Q & A from 8:30pm tomorrow evening. To attend the AGM, you must be a paid-up member of the Salford RLFC Supportersโ€™ Trust. There will be an opportunity for fans to join prior to the meeting.
Full address:
Chandos Sports & Social Club, Chandos Grove, Salford, M5 5LJ.
 
Tickets forย Salford Red Devilsโ€™ next pre-season friendlyย areย available to purchase at the Club Ticket Office, overย the phone on 0161 786 1570 or online HERE. For a reminder of ticket prices, click HERE.
Salford Red Devils 2019 Season Tickets are stillย available to purchase from the Club Ticket Office, over theย phone on 0161 786 1570 or online HERE. You can spread the cost via Direct Debit payments, for more details, click HERE.

Ian Watson | “I thought we looked quite smooth”

Salford Red Devils got 2019 off to a great start with a 54-6 victory over local rivals Swinton Lions and Head Coach Ian Watson was pleased with various aspects of his sideโ€™s performance.

On the gameโ€ฆ

I thought it was a good performance and we did what weโ€™ve worked on in the pre-season. We got out of our own half a little bit too easily as we got quite a few penalties on tackle three. Iโ€™d have like to see a little more of an arm-wrestle to see more of what we have worked on. But everything that was put in front of the boys they reacted really well to especially when we were making all the changes to mix it up a bit people got plenty of game time.

On adapting following the changesโ€ฆ

I thought we looked quite smooth even when Jackson [Hastings] and Rob [Lui] came off and we put Niall [Evalds] into the halves. Weโ€™ve done a bit of practice in training running with different combinations just in case anything happens. We know weโ€™ve got a small squad, but weโ€™ve got players who can play in different positions and that was on show for us against Swinton.ย 

On Connor Davies-Aspeyโ€™s debutโ€ฆ

I was really pleased for him. Heโ€™s a baby, to be fair, and I thought he did great. He made a couple of breaks and a little bit of inexperience cost him from making a try for Jansin [Turgut] but he created a nice try for Derrell [Olpherts]. Iโ€™m sure heโ€™ll be telling everyone about nearly getting his ribs knocked out as well, but I thought it was great for a young kid to come in and do that.

On fellow triallist โ€“ Calvin Wellington…

Calvin did really well coming in at left centre. He has the ability to play on both sides and he transfers the ball really well, but he suits us with him not having a preference as to which side he plays on.

On the players who didnโ€™t featureโ€ฆ

All going well they should be included next weekend against Wigan. With the game being a little different at the moment with the stop clock we wanted our middles to get decent minutes and get used to how it feels to be under the pump and play under the stop clock. Thatโ€™s why we didnโ€™t make a change in the first half and then let the middles run for a full forty in the second half, also.

On how the players handled the stop clockโ€ฆ

Weโ€™ve got players here who are big enough and fit enough to play long minutes if you look at the first half, we had Mark Flanagan, Lee Mossop and Gil Dudson who all did a full forty and handled it really comfortably.

On the stop clockโ€ฆ

It flowed a lot better today. I thought the first ten minutes went really quickly, it used to take a long time to get to the ten-minute mark in some games but today I thought the stop clock helped today and it sped the game up. My thing with it was when youโ€™re watching a game on Sky Sports, they were finishing way beyond 10pm and the game was getting dragged out longer and longer, but I think the stop clock kind of drags that back in really rather than it being stop-start. Hopefully, itโ€™ll make the Betfred Super League more entertaining.

On goal kickingโ€ฆ

No, weโ€™ve no issues there. Ed [Chamberlain] practices religiously so weโ€™ve not got much of a problem with that. It was fairly windy when Ed was out there kicking today. The good thing is last year I donโ€™t think we had a single goal kicker for the majority but now weโ€™ve got a handful of genuine goal kickers โ€“ Ed, Jackson, Rob, Joey [Lussick] and Niall likes to put a kick in every now and again. So, weโ€™ve no worries in that department.
 
Tickets forย Salford Red Devils’ next pre-season friendlyย areย available to purchase at the Club Ticket Office, overย the phone on 0161 786 1570 or online HERE. For a reminder of ticket prices, click HERE.
Salford Red Devils 2019 Season Tickets are stillย available to purchase from the Club Ticket Office, over theย phone on 0161 786 1570 or online HERE. You can spread the cost via Direct Debit payments, for more details, click HERE.

Match Report | Salford Red Devils 52-6 Swinton Lions

Salford Red Devils got 2019 off to a perfect start with an eleven-try rout over local rivals Swinton Lions at the The Salford Stadium.
Junior Saโ€™u, Greg Johnson and Joey Lussick all grabbed braces on a rampant afternoon for Ian Watsonโ€™s men while Jackson Hastings, Niall Evalds, Rob Lui, Ed Chamberlain and Derrell Olpherts also got their names on the scoresheet.
It was Saโ€™u who opened the scoring powering over from close-range after collecting the ball at the second attempt. Hastings was the provider for the opener, but he soon turned try-scorer six minutes in pouncing on Luiโ€™s neat kick under the posts.
The Red Devils fast start continued when Mark Flanagan found Evalds on his inside to cut open the Swinton defence for the third time in the opening fifteen minutes. However, the Lions did cross shortly after as Oscar Thomasโ€™ low kick wasnโ€™t dealt with by Salford and Mike Butt was quickest to react.
Swintonโ€™s revival was short-lived however as Lui managed to fend off three Swinton defenders to force his way over after jinking inside. With around eight minutes of the half remaining Chamberlain benefitted from some quick hands out wide to further the lead going into the break.
Head Coach Ian Watson made five changes at the break and it was substitute Johnson who got the scoring for the second half underway. The winger went close a minute earlier but was held down by Lewis Hatton who was sent to the sin-bin. However, Johnson did get on the end of a well-timed Kris Welham pass moments later.
In similar fashion to the first half, Flanagan would again find an onrushing Evalds on the inside and the full-back found Lussick in support who notched his first of the afternoon. Evalds was causing all sorts of problems for Swinton and his quick play at first receiver followed by a sublime tip-on from Welham put Johnson in for his second in just six minutes.
A try-scoring run of four in nine minutes was rounded off when Lussickโ€™s low kick was chased down by Welham with the centre then giving it back to the Australian for his second.
Swinton would be handed another yellow card when Butt held down Olpherts who had raced seventy metres from his own try-line. The man advantage again proved dividend for Salford as Academy player and triallist Connor Davies-Aspey cut through the Lions line before finding Olpherts in the corner to round off the scoring.
Salford welcome current Betfred Super League champions Wigan Warriors to the The Salford Stadium on Sunday 20th January, 2pm kick-off, in their second pre-season friendly.
Salford Red Devils: Evalds, Bibby, Saโ€™u, Welham, Chamberlain; Lui, Hastings; Mossop, Lussick, Dudson, Jones, Turgut, Flanagan.
Interchanges: Griffin, McCarthy, Nakubuwai, Johnson, Olpherts, Davies-Aspey, Wellington.
Swinton Lions: Hansen, Butt, Lloyd, Williams, Aaronson; Fairclough, Thomas; Bennion, Waterworth, Austin, Hope, Jones, Hatton.
Interchanges: Brickhill, Gray, Hall, Halton, Jones, Kenga, Ratu, Warne, Worrall, Ashton.
 
Salford Tries: Saโ€™u (3โ€™, 35โ€™), Hastings (6โ€™), Evalds (13โ€™), Lui (19), Chamberlain (33โ€™), Johnson (54โ€™ 60), Lussick (56, 63โ€™), Olpherts (76โ€™).
Salford Goals: Chamberlain (7โ€™, 14โ€™, 34โ€™), Lussick (64โ€™).
Swinton Tries: Butt (16โ€™).
Swinton Goals: Thomas (17โ€™).
ย 
Swinton Sin-bins: Hatton (52โ€™), Butt (67โ€™).
 
Referee: Liam Moore.
Attendance: 1798.

Salford Red Devils 2019 Squad Numbers

Salford Red Devils are delighted to reveal our squads playing numbers ahead of the 2019 season.
Ken Sio is set to wear 23 following his arrival at the The Salford Stadium. Gil Dudson has been named at number ten while fellow new signings Adam Lawton and Adam Walker will wear 25 and 15, respectively.
Josh Wood โ€“ who was last yearโ€™s Young Player of the Year โ€“ has moved to number nine. Fellow youngster Jake Bibby has moved to number five.
Greg Burke and Ed Chamberlain who arrived midway through 2017 have been given 16 and two.
Jackson Hastings will remain as number 31, the number he wore when originally joining the Club in July. Joey Lussick will wear 14.
Niall Evalds has moved to number one, the position he occupied for the majority of last season.
The full squad list and sponsors are as follows:

  1. Niall Evalds sponsored by The Dog & Partridge
  2. Ed Chamberlain sponsored by Sparta Lightning Services
  3. Kris Welham sponsored by Process Gas Services
  4. Junior Saโ€™u sponsored by FAC Site Services
  5. Jake Bibby sponsored by Executive VPA
  6. Robert Lui sponsored by Steadfast Epoxy Flooring
  7. N/A
  8. ย Lee Mossop sponsored by Austin Wilkinson
  9. Josh Wood sponsored by SRD Roofing
  10. Gil Dudson sponsored PH Services
  11. Josh Jones sponsored by Oakwood Engineering
  12. George Griffin sponsored by SuperJosh
  13. Mark Flanagan sponsored by Sparta Lightning Services
  14. Joey Lussick sponsored by Salmon King
  15. Adam Walker
  16. Greg Burke sponsored by Kinpaja
  17. Tyrone McCarthy sponsored by Arlec Property Services
  18. Ben Nakubuwai sponsored by Sparta Lightning Services
  19. Logan Tomkins sponsored by PH Services
  20. Daniel Murray sponsored by Juniper Gin Bar
  21. Greg Johnson sponsored by CD Brick & Stone
  22. Derrell Olpherts sponsored by Gold Line Draw
  23. Ken Sio sponsored by Advanced Steel
  24. Jansin Turgut sponsored by Acrobat FCSM
  25. Adam Lawton sponsored by Murray Metals
  26. N/A
  27. N/A
  28. N/A
  29. N/A
  30. N/A
  31. Jackson Hastings sponsored by Advanced Steel

Remember, for the best value for money you can still purchase a Salford Red Devils 2019 Season Ticket from the The Salford Stadium Ticket Office, over the phone on 0161 786 1570 or by simply clicking online HERE.
You can spread the cost of your 2019 Season Ticket over seven easy, manageable monthly payments via our Direct Debit payment scheme. To purchase your 2019 Season Ticket via Direct Debit please visit the The Salford Stadium Ticket Office or call 0161 786 1570. Please remember the Direct Debit option is not available via online purchases.

Salford Red Devils U19’s succumb to adverse weather conditions

The relentless driving rain, which had precipitated the relocation of the Salford U19sโ€™ home game with Barrow, on Wednesday afternoon, continued to take its toll on the Red team of the Cat 3 squad, by producing playing conditions with which they found the utmost difficulty in coping.
With their own field at the A J Bell completely under water, it was only thanks to the great spirited assistance of our good friends at St Peterโ€™s RC School, Manchester, who most willingly sprang to our rescue by loaning their 4G pitch for the purposes of our fulfilling the fixture.
โ€œIt was a tough day for everyone concerned, with us having to decamp to the other side of Manchester, which was a considerable task in itself, but we are extremely grateful to St Peterโ€™s, and our good friend, Jim Dixon in particular, for coming to our aid, and at such short notice,โ€ coach, Danny Barton recounts.
Just as all this had affected Danny, so, too, it will also have affected the players themselves, with the whole build up to the match being disrupted and consequently different to their normal procedures.
โ€œNot only that, the conditions far from suited us, whilst Barrow found them ideal for the physical dominance of their pack to assert itself,โ€ Danny assesses,
โ€œFor ourselves, we just have to put it down to another piece of the playersโ€™ development.ย  All I ask is that they stick to working at the processes we have been putting in place, and they will definitely benefit from doing so, as time goes on.โ€
The game was barely five minutes through, when the visitors swept in for two converted tries, but the Red Devils responded, with a try from hooker, Connor Aspey, who scooted through the defensive line from a play-the-ball, selling a neat dummy on the way.
Unfortunately, goal kicker, Connor Law, was unable to convert, and the Cumbrians proceeded to exploit their dominance by running in a further two tries before scrum half, Keiran Prescott, scored a fine individual try to pull back another four points, and bring the half time score to 24-8 in the visitorsโ€™ favour.
With first teamers, Rob Lui, Joey Lussick and ย Jackson Hastings, having made the journey across Manchester to support the lads from the touchline, there were hopes that the Salford players would make a quick response, but the second half belonged entirely to Barrow, with their strong powerful forwards taking complete control and forcing their hosts into errors both with, and without, the ball.
Centre, Joe Lawlor, showed some outstanding defence and deservedly was acknowledged as man of the match for Salford.
Next week sees another home game for the Reds, when they play Hopwood, in a return fixture, following their early season, narrow, away defeat.ย  It will be an ideal test for the players to show how much they have learned and improved in the intervening couple of months.

Red Devils trio attend Folly Lane presentation night

Salford Red Devils trio Jackson Hastings, Rob Lui and Josh Jones were in attendance at Folly Laneโ€™s U10โ€™s presentation evening this past weekend.
The lads signed autographs, handed out trophies and spent the evening with another batch of the next generation of local talent.
Folly Lane said: โ€œWe would like to say a big thank you to Jackson, Rob and Josh for taking time out of their spare time to come down and help with our presentation day.
โ€œOur lads were really excited when they turned up and when they gave them their awards.
โ€œA credit to the Club.โ€

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