Head Coach Ian Watson has named his 19-man squad for this weekend’s trip to London Broncos in the Qualifiers.
Ben Nakubuwai returns to the 19-man squad after picking up a shoulder knock a few weeks ago in the victory over Halifax.
Jack Littlejohn could feature for the first time in three months with fellow halfback Josh Wood missing out after picking up a knock last week against Leeds.
Jansin Turgut retains his place in the squad after debuting at the Emerald Headingley Stadium last weekend. Gavin Bennion could also feature for the first time since the win over Leeds Rhinos in July.
Greg Johnson is also included after a lay-off with a foot injury. Luke Burgess also returns to the squad after serving a one-game suspension following his red card in the win over Toronto Wolfpack.
Jackson Hastings will serve the second of a two-match suspension following his dismissal in the closing stages of the win over Toronto. Junior Sa’u just misses out with an arm injury. Lee Mossop, Lama Tasi and George Griffin are all out of the 19-man squad.
The full squad is as follows:
Gavin Bennion, Luke Burgess, Greg Burke, Mark Flanagan, Greg Johnson, Josh Jones, Craig Kopczak, Ryan Lannon, Joey Lussick, Tyrone McCarthy, Ben Nakubuwai, Derrell Olpherts, Jansin Turgut, Kris Welham, Niall Evalds, Rob Lui, Jack Littlejohn, Jake Bibby, Ed Chamberlain.
Tickets for this fixture are available at the The Salford Stadium Ticket Office and over the phone on 0161 786 1570 and are available to purchase up until 3pm on Friday 21st September.
Tag: Lama Tasi
Lama Tasi | “We weathered the storm”
The Red Devils had eight different try-scorers at Halifax included Lama Tasi who powered over for his first of the season after the side battled through a tough opening spell.
Tasi, sponsored by The Salmon King, said: “We’re happy to get three from three.
“We didn’t start off the best but once we got into the groove of things we ran away with the game. We weathered the storm and everything else came on the back of that.
“We need to take that form into next week.”
Watch Lama Tasi’s full post-match interview below:
Match Report | Halifax RLFC 4-62 Salford Red Devils
Salford made it three wins from three in The Qualifiers to open up a two-point from four other teams with a convincing 4-62 victory over Halifax at the MBi Shay Stadium.
Derrell Olpherts crossed for his first hat-trick in Salford colours while Jackson Hastings and Junior Sa’u both notched braces. Ed Chamberlain, Ben Nakubuwai, Kris Welham, Lama Tasi and Josh Wood were all also on the scoresheet. Sam Wood scored Halifax’s only try.
But it was the hosts who were quickest out of the blocks and opened the scoring early on. Heaton streaked away down the flank before finding Sam Wood in support to give Halifax an early lead.
However, the Red Devils soon found their feet and it was Hastings who levelled the scores as he dummied and ghosted his way through the defensive line. Hastings was central to Salford’s second as his high kick was knocked down by Welham before the ball found Chamberlain out wide who put Ian Watson’s men ahead.
GET IN!! @SalfordDevils fans were class 👏🏻👏🏻
— Josh Wood (@Josh19Wood) September 2, 2018
Fellow Australian half Rob Lui settled into the game and began causing the Halifax defence issues and it wasn’t long until Olpherts crossed in similar fashion to Chamberlain before him. This time it was Josh Jones who rose highest before Olpherts grabbed his first of the game.
Nakubuwai would soon force his way through the Halifax defence under the posts as Salford strengthened their grip on the game.
With five minutes of the first half remaining the Red Devils showed no signs of letting up crossing for two quickfire tries. Hastings scooped up a loose ball when it had looked like the chance had passed finding Niall Evalds who in turn looped the ball wide to Olpherts to score his second of the game.
On the half-time hooter, Chamberlain broke down the opposite wing before throwing the ball inside to an onrushing Welham giving Salford a comfortable lead going into the break.
Half-time didn’t affect Ian Watson’s who scored inside the opening few minutes of the second half with Olpherts claiming his hat-trick. However, the hard work was done by mercurial halfback Hastings who broke from deep before finding the former League One winger.
Tasi was the next Red Devil to break the Halifax defence powering his way over for his first try of the 2018 season. Hastings again provided a try-assist as Sa’u crashed over from close-range before gliding through a big gap in the Fax defence to score himself.
Good to get the W with the brothers today! Big thanks to our @SalfordDevils FANS for turning up in numbers today see you all next week!!! #WeAreSalford 🔴⚪️🔴⚪️
— Junior Sa'u (@junior_sau) September 2, 2018
Hastings and fellow halfback Lui were both taken from the field with twenty minutes remaining with one eye on next week’s game against Toronto. Youngster Wood stepped into the halves and went through to score shortly after.
It was down to Sa’u to wrap up a rampant Salford display as he plucked Evalds’ pass out of the air before stepping inside to score in the final minute.
Halifax: Moss, Heaton, Wood, Butler, Sharp; Murrell, Johnston; Fleming, Kaye, Baldwinson, Tangata, Grady, Grix.
Interchanges: Maher, Moore, Cooper, Fairbank.
Salford: Evalds, Olpherts, Sa’u, Welham, Chamberlain; Lui, Hastings; Tasi, Wood, Murray, Jones, McCarthy, Flanagan.
Interchanges: Burgess, Nakubuwai, Burke, Lussick.
Halifax Tries: Wood (9)
Salford Tries: Hastings (12, 65), Chamberlain (19), Olpherts (23, 36, 44), Nakubuwai (27), Welham (40), Tasi (49), Sa’u (54, 80), Wood (71). Salford Conversions: Chamberlain (20, 28, 37, 45, 50, 66, 73)
Man of the Match: Rob Lui.
Referee: Tom Grant.
Touch Judge: Chris Kendall.
Touch Judge: Andrew Sweet.
Attendance: 2555.
Stat Pack | Salford Red Devils 38-22 Leeds Rhinos
Salford Red Devils earned just their third victory over Leeds Rhinos since the inception of the Betfred Super League and we delve into the facts and figures that made it happen.
Player in Focus
The likes of Jackson Hastings, Rob Lui and Niall Evalds took the plaudits for a fantastic victory over Leeds however back-rower Tyrone McCarthy was a key performer who possibly slipped under the radar.
🙌🏻 Well last night was just what the Doctor ordered going in to the Qualifiers.
Great effort from all the @SalfordDevils lads and a nice little debut for @JackoHastings. Welcome mate, now let’s get the job done!
👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹
— Tyrone McCarthy Testimonial (@TykeMc) July 28, 2018
McCarthy was the Red Devils most prolific tackler against the Rhinos racking up a total of 38 defensive efforts. This was six more than any other Salford player with Lama Tasi coming second with 32. Nine of these tackles came from marker which indicate back-to-back efforts from the Ireland international. This, again, was the highest of any Red Devil.
The 30-year-old made 12 carries amounting to a total of 72 metres against Leeds leaving him with an average gain of six metres. This was bested in the forwards by only Josh Jones and Ryan Lannon. McCarthy was also important with ball in hand completing 12 passes and jumping in at acting halfback on a few occasions.
Offloads
Josh Jones has returned to the Salford side in recent weeks after a short stint on the sidelines and is well-known for his offloading ability which was once again on show versus Leeds. Jones completed three offloads against the Rhinos with one leading to a half-break.
69' – TRY SALFORD! Another inch-perfect kick from Rob Lui is met by Josh Jones who slides over in front of the South Stand!
(36-16)#SLSalLee pic.twitter.com/qChkHwz2ZT
— Salford Red Devils 👹 (@SalfordDevils) July 27, 2018
However, it wasn’t just the back-rower racking up the offloads with halfback duo Rob Lui and Jackson Hastings also managed to get three offloads apiece away. Josh Wood made two offloads while Niall Evalds, Derrell Olpherts, Lee Mossop, Tyrone McCarthy and Mark Flanagan also notched an offload each.
Salford made 16 offloads overall compared to ten from Leeds.
Overall Stats
In his post-match press conference Ian Watson commented that “when we complete sets, we usually win games” and that was evident this weekend with the Red Devils completing 81% of their sets in comparison with Leeds’ 64% completion rate. Salford had a total of 37 sets four more than Leeds but completed nine more than the visitors.
Salford spent almost three minutes more with ball in hand which totalled to 19 more play-the-balls than the Rhinos. However, Leeds actually made 23 quick play-the-balls compared to the Red Devils 14 but – in the end – it didn’t count for much.
Leeds conceded three more penalties than Salford who only has five given against them and the Red Devils made just eight errors compared to the visitors 13.
Factfile | Salford Red Devils vs Leeds Rhinos | Friday 27th July
Ahead of tomorrow’s final game of the regular Betfred Super League season for 2018, we take a look at all the facts and figures behind our clash with Leeds Rhinos.
Head-to-Head
Salford Red Devils haven’t had much luck against Leeds since the inception of the Betfred Super League beating the Rhinos on two occasions.
The Red Devils most recent victory against Leeds came in 2016 with Salford earning a narrow 14-10 victory at the The Salford Stadium. Salford’s other Betfred Super League triumph over the Rhinos came in 2009 in the form of a 30-20 Easter period win at the Emerald Headingley Stadium.
However, since Ian Watson’s sides last win over Leeds, the Rhinos have won six consecutive meetings with the most recent being a 0-20 win at the Emerald Headingley Stadium in the second game of the 2018 Easter period. Five of these six victories have come at the Emerald Headingley Stadium however with the sides meeting just once at the The Salford Stadium over the past two years.
Milestones
Salford Red Devils back-rower Tyrone McCarthy is in line to make his 150th career appearance this weekend against Leeds.
McCarthy has made 24 appearances for the Red Devils since arriving at the The Salford Stadium this time last season ahead of the Club’s Ladbrokes Challenge Cup semi-final. Tyrone has also made 31 appearances for Hull Kingston Rovers, 43 appearances for Warrington Wolves and played twice for NRL side St George Illawarra Dragons.
In addition, whilst at Warrington, McCarthy spent time on loan and dual-registration with Swinton Lions (11 games), Leigh Centurions (18 games) and Wakefield Trinity (7 games). The second-rower has also represented Ireland on 13 occasions.
2018 Stats
Jake Bibby’s try-scoring run came to an end last week against Catalans Dragons, but the flying winger remains the Red Devils top try-scorer with 11 tries this season. Bibby is one ahead of the Rhinos top try-scorer in the 2018 Betfred Super League which is Ash Handley. Wingers Ryan Hall and Tom Briscoe are close behind on nine tries apiece.
Richie Myler has proven a brilliant signing for Leeds and currently tops their try-assist tally with 23 in the Betfred Super League; the most of any player in this year’s competition.
Red Devils acting halfback Logan Tomkins is Salford’s top tackler with 630 however he is still sidelines for this weekend’s fixture. Tyrone McCarthy, Lama Tasi and Lee Mossop could all go over the 500 tackles mark for the 2018 Berfred Super League this season.
Leeds hooker Matt Parcell currently tops the Rhinos ranks in terms of tackles with 622 so far this season. Brad Singleton, Adam Cuthbertson and Jamie Jones-Buchanan have all racked up 500+ defensive efforts.
Factfile | Salford Red Devils vs Castleford Tigers | Friday 13th July
Salford Red Devils host Castleford Tigers this evening and we take a look at the stats, facts and figures behind tonight’s encounter at the The Salford Stadium, 8pm kick-off.
Head-to-head
Salford managed to overcome Castleford in this fixture last season narrowly edging out the Tigers 13-12 thanks to a late drop-goal. However, Castleford have been on top in recent meetings winning three consecutive games against the Red Devils with the most recent finishing 22-8 at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle back in March.
Ian Watson’s men have won two of their last three home meetings with Castleford. In addition to last year’s terrific one-point victory, the Red Devils won 22-18 in July 2016 at the The Salford Stadium. But, it was the West Yorkshire side who won the most recent meeting at Salford in last year’s Betfred Super League Super 8s.
Overall, in the Betfred Super League, Salford Red Devils have won 11 meetings while Castleford have 27 victories. There is yet to be a draw between the two sides in the Betfred Super League.
Try-scorers
Jake Bibby has scored in two of his last three appearances against Castleford however both have come in fixtures at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle. Bibby crossed for a late try in this year’s meeting between the sides as well as in a 14-38 defeat in July 2017.
The 22-year-old has hit some try-scoring form in recent weeks for the Red Devils crossing in each of his last three appearances. Bibby’s current run began just after half-time in a 26-12 win over Widnes before he also went over in recent defeats against both Warrington and Hull Kingston Rovers.
As for Castleford, fullback Quentin Laulu-Togagae is their man in try-scoring form having also scored in his last three outings. ‘QLT’ scored in crucial victories over Wigan Warriors and Leeds Rhinos at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle while also crossing in France versus Catalans Dragons.
2018 Stats
Jake Bibby is also Salford Red Devils’ top try-scorer this season with ten. He is currently three in front of centre Junior Sa’u. Castleford’s Jy Hitchcox currently sits atop the Tigers try-scoring ranks with ten. He is closely followed by Michael Shenton on eight while Oliver Holmes and Paul McShane have both scored seven tries.
Logan Tomkins is comfortably leading the way in terms of tackles for the Red Devils with 630 however with the hooker absent Lama Tasi is the top tackler of the 19-man squad named with 442. Similarly, it’s Castleford’s hooker Paul McShane who tops the Tigers tackle chart by over 200 tackles.
Ed Chamberlain made his first start for the Red Devils last weekend against Hull Kingston Rovers and averaged a massive 11.21 metres per carry. Castleford also have a player who averages above ten metres per carry in Greg Eden with 10.47 metres.
Grant Millington is Castleford’s top metre-maker with 1679 while Junior Sa’u leads the way for Salford with 1741.
The Tigers are in Town, but we’ll roar louder!
Tickets are still available from the Club Ticket Office and over the phone on 0161 786 1570 for this evening’s game.
Preview | Hull FC vs Salford Red Devils | Friday 8th June
Salford Red Devils travel to Hull FC in search of two crucial points in the hunt for a spot inside the Super 8s.
Here is our preview of the fixture including both teams recent form, team news, full squads and a head-to-head between two players who could be pivotal in the outcome of the game.
Last Time Out
The Red Devils suffered defeat at the hands of Huddersfield Giants in their last outing but did go into the break in the lead thanks to tries from Niall Evalds and Junior Sa’u. The centre did power over for a second late on, but Huddersfield’s comeback had already been complete with scores from Darnell McIntosh, Daniel Smith, Jordan Turner and Kruise Leeming.
Hull FC’s two-year unbeaten run in the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup came to an end last weekend as they suffered a 25-22 defeat at the hands of current Betfred Super League leaders St Helens at the Totally Wicked Stadium.
Albert Kelly, James Green, Scott Taylor and Hakim Miloudi all crossed for Hull FC however doubles from Mark Percival and Regan Grace alongside a terrific kicking display from Danny Richardson, which included a drop-goal, sealed victory for the Saints.
Form
Salford will be looking to get back to winning ways this weekend against Hull FC after a difficult spell in May. The Red Devils came close to turning their fortunes around last weekend against Huddersfield and a victory on Friday evening could see them climb back into the top eight.
FC have had a mixed bag of results lately with the defeat against St Helens following a 30-12 loss to Warrington Wolves at the backend of May. However, prior to this the Black and Whites had won consecutive games against Featherstone Rovers in the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup and local rivals Hull Kingston Rovers at the Dacia Magic Weekend.
Team News
Ian Watson welcomes back Josh Jones into the squad who has been out since the Red Devils last away victory against Huddersfield Giants. Kris Welham has also recovered from an injury he sustained at the Dacia Magic Weekend.
Jack Littlejohn also returns to the squad to face the side he scored his first-ever Red Devils try against. Lama Tasi is also reintroduced into the squad while Ryan Lannon and Gavin Bennion are the two changes from last week’s squad.
Niall Evalds is sidelined with a broken leg which he picked up against Huddersfield a fortnight ago while Kriss Brining also remains out due to injury.
Lee Radford’s Hull FC have been struggling with injuries and have a number of first team regulars missing including Sika Manu, Danny Houghton and Dean Hadley.
Long-term absentees Marc Sneyd, Josh Bowden, Josh Griffin, Fetuli Talanoa and Jordan Abdull are all also unavailable.
Head-to-Head
With Josh Jones looking set to return for the Red Devils the second-rower features in this week’s head-to-head against Hull FC back-rower Mark Minichiello.
Jones has a powerful running game out wide for the Red Devils and is always a threat on the opponent’s line. The former St Helens man still sits second in terms of offloads for the team this season despite being sidelined for two months and his hands could very well create some openings for Salford on Friday evening.
Minichiello is a workhorse for the Black and Whites sitting fourth in FC’s tackle count so far this season. The Italian international – much like Jones – has terrific hands and sits second in the Hull’s offloading ranks thus far in 2018.
While both forwards defensive efforts will be massive for their respective sides the game could come down to one pivotal offload or play from the back-rowers to edge their team in front.
Squads:
Hull FC: Shaul, Faraimo, Tuimavave, Kelly, Taylor, Minichiello, Connor, Green, Washbrook, Fash, Paea, Logan, Lane, Downs, Miloudi, Matongo, Scott, Westerman, Harris.
Salford: Johnson, Welham, Sa’u, Lui, Littlejohn, Kopczak, Tomkins, G. Griffin, Jones, Flanagan, Tasi, McCarthy, Nakubuwai, Wood, Olpherts, Mossop, Bibby, Murray, Shorrocks.
Kingsland Drinks Try of the Month | April 2018 – Jake Bibby
Salford Red Devils winger Jake Bibby was the winner of April’s Kingsland Drinks ‘Try of the Month’ competition after he finished a superb off-the-cuff team try at Huddersfield.
The try began with Weller Hauraki and Rob Lui linking up to find Lama Tasi however, Tasi wasn’t taking the tackle offloading back to Lui.
The halfback found Ben Nakubuwai, who similarly wasn’t happy going to ground and gave the ball to Mark Flanagan who pulled off a lovely one-handed catch.
Hauraki eventually found himself back in possession and threw a sublime inside dummy to Kris Welham before a ‘out of the back door’ offload to Bibby out wide who finished in style.
But, why just read about the try when you can watch it here:
Three Talking Points | Salford Red Devils 10-60 St Helens
Following last night’s defeat against St Helens we take a look at three talking points from the game.
Red card
Matty Lees saw himself dismissed in the closing stages of the first half for a swinging arm which caught Niall Evalds flush on the chin in contact. The impact forced the full-back to drop the ball which led to a Saints opportunity which video referee Ben Thaler ruled out.
Referee Chris Kendall sent Lees from the field for the challenge which could have signalled a Salford fightback however St Helens didn’t miss a beat and continued in the same vein for the remaining 43 minutes.
Returning players
The Red Devils have been hit with a handful of injuries in recent weeks but forward duo Lama Tasi and Lee Mossop both returned last night.
While it was a tough evening for the forwards against a strong St Helens pack it was good to see two of Salford’s standout performers this season back on the field ahead of a crucial run of games in the coming weeks.
Jake Shorrocks
Half-back Jake Shorrocks – who has extended his stay with the Red Devils for another month – featured for the second time since joining Salford.
Shorrocks began the game in the halves on a difficult evening which didn’t see Salford with ball in hand for large periods. However, the youngster took the ball to the Saints line well and was always looking for openings.
The 22-year-old moved to full-back following Niall Evalds’ forced departure due to concussion and showed his versatility slotting into the attacking line at speed when the Red Devils went forward.
Squad | Ian Watson names his 19-man squad to face St Helens on Thursday
Head Coach Ian Watson has named his 19-man squad as the Salford Red Devils look to make it three successive victories as they host St Helens.
Lee Mossop is available for selection for Thursday’s game after missing the win over Wakefield after failing a concussion assessment the week prior against Huddersfield. Lama Tasi also returns to the squad for after overcoming an illness that kept him out of the victory last week against Trinity.
Jake Shorrocks could be set to start for Ian Watson’s side as Rob Lui is sidelined after picking up a calf injury last Friday. Weller Hauraki also remains sidelined.
Forward quartet Luke Burgess, George Griffin, Daniel Murray and Tyrone McCarthy may all retain their places in the side after returning to action in the dominant victory over Wakefield.
Here is the full 19-man squad:
