RED DEVILS IN DEPTH: LEEDS V SALFORD

At the time, it all looked so familiar – a journey to Leeds in such a positive frame of mind after that tremendous victory over St Helens, followed by the re-awakening to reality of most trips to Headingley Stadium, with Leeds ramping up an eighteen lead, which they later expanded to thirty-two.

With hindsight, however, it was not like that in its entirety, for that was only half the tale.  True the Rhinos made an extremely good start, tearing through the visitors’ defence in the very first set of the game, to notch their first six pointer after only forty-five seconds, owing to a missed tackle on the left edge during the build-up.

Six minutes later, Dan Sarginson, with the sun glaring into his eyes, slightly misjudged the flight of the ball from a high bomb, which gave Myler, who was moving forward onto it at pace, the chance he needed to take it on the full for their second, whilst some rather soft tackling on Martin allowed the Leeds second-rower to force his way over the line to register an eighteen points lead on fifteen minutes, having been aided by a penalty and two set restarts.

Even then, despite what the scoreboard showed, it had not been only Leeds, throughout that opening period.  Five minutes into the game, and with the score at only six points, Deon Cross appeared to have scored, only for it to be ruled out owing to a Salford touch forward in flight, from the preceding high kick.  Indeed, the number of tries the Reds had disallowed over the whole game, would, if converted, have been enough to have put them in position to win the game.

‘Nearly’, and ‘almost’, even ‘disputed’, mean nothing, however, in terms of points, so it was not until the first quarter of the game had elapsed that the Reds started to get back into it.  In fact, it was on the twentieth minute that Salford’s first points were gained, with an end-of–set kick being caught and passed along the line to left winger, Joe Burgess, in space, for him to cross in the corner.

Eight minutes later, a kick into the corner forced a Leeds goal-line drop-out, which preluded a passing move of the slickest of handling, which started by going to the left, at which point it reversed and went from left to right, ending with a wide pass from Watkins to Ken Sio, to reduce the Rhino’s lead further.

Without a successful conversion attempt for either of the two tries, though, overtaking Leeds’s eighteen points was always going to be an uphill battle, and if only Brodie Croft’s dance through their defence, on 34 mins, had been grounded to the referee’s satisfaction, it would have reduced it by the full six points, being, as it was, close to the posts.

They therefore had to wait until the 49th minute, for Croft to repeat his effort, this time having a much easier, clear-cut act of grounding, and at this point the Rhinos were really shaken.  The whole story of the second half, thus far, had been that of total Salford dominance, as, in fact, had the final quarter of the first half.

Virtually every set of possession, during the second forty had seen the Red Devils charging upfield, making in the region of sixty to eighty metres in each set, to the extent that the Leeds players looked almost completely out of energy, and there for the taking.  So confident were the visitors that they even scorned taking a penalty kick at goal, from directly in front of the posts, and even though they failed to score from the resultant set, it seemed almost inevitable that they would take the lead before long.

Sadly, this proved not to be the case, and a penalty goal took Leeds to six points ahead, and suddenly the balance of the game seemed to have swung the other way.  The Rhinos’ defence now appeared more resolute, and their reserves of energy had obviously been replenished by the reintroduction of some of their starting players, and others who had been spelled during the game.

Consequently, when an attacking pass to the right was intercepted by Super League’s top poacher, Handley, to race ninety metres for a try, the Salford players must have found this a little dispiriting, so much so that their grip on the game began to lessen.

Another Leeds penalty goal to accompany the sin-binning of Sitaleki Akauola, increased the home lead to 28-14, and the twelve remaining Salford players were then unable to hold out against Martin’s scoring his second try, which alongside his highly successful goal-kicking, had done so much to damage Salford’s aspirations.

So the Headingley jinx remains, but there was just so much that was positive, in that mid-match period.  Indeed, for a neutral spectator it must have been a wonderful whole afternoon’s spectacle of attacking rugby from both sides – presumably exactly what had been envisaged by those who had first advocated and instigated summer rugby – and many of us were there to enjoy it.  Winning would, of course, have capped it all, but maybe we should not let the result completely deprive us of the enjoyment and excitement our team’s performance contributed to such an entertaining match.

RED DEVILS IN DEPTH: LEEDS V SALFORD

At the time, it all looked so familiar – a journey to Leeds in such a positive frame of mind after that tremendous victory over St Helens, followed by the re-awakening to reality of most trips to Headingley Stadium, with Leeds ramping up an eighteen lead, which they later expanded to thirty-two.

With hindsight, however, it was not like that in its entirety, for that was only half the tale.  True the Rhinos made an extremely good start, tearing through the visitors’ defence in the very first set of the game, to notch their first six pointer after only forty-five seconds, owing to a missed tackle on the left edge during the build-up.

Six minutes later, Dan Sarginson, with the sun glaring into his eyes, slightly misjudged the flight of the ball from a high bomb, which gave Myler, who was moving forward onto it at pace, the chance he needed to take it on the full for their second, whilst some rather soft tackling on Martin allowed the Leeds second-rower to force his way over the line to register an eighteen points lead on fifteen minutes, having been aided by a penalty and two set restarts.

Even then, despite what the scoreboard showed, it had not been only Leeds, throughout that opening period.  Five minutes into the game, and with the score at only six points, Deon Cross appeared to have scored, only for it to be ruled out owing to a Salford touch forward in flight, from the preceding high kick.  Indeed, the number of tries the Reds had disallowed over the whole game, would, if converted, have been enough to have put them in position to win the game.

‘Nearly’, and ‘almost’, even ‘disputed’, mean nothing, however, in terms of points, so it was not until the first quarter of the game had elapsed that the Reds started to get back into it.  In fact, it was on the twentieth minute that Salford’s first points were gained, with an end-of–set kick being caught and passed along the line to left winger, Joe Burgess, in space, for him to cross in the corner.

Eight minutes later, a kick into the corner forced a Leeds goal-line drop-out, which preluded a passing move of the slickest of handling, which started by going to the left, at which point it reversed and went from left to right, ending with a wide pass from Watkins to Ken Sio, to reduce the Rhino’s lead further.

Without a successful conversion attempt for either of the two tries, though, overtaking Leeds’s eighteen points was always going to be an uphill battle, and if only Brodie Croft’s dance through their defence, on 34 mins, had been grounded to the referee’s satisfaction, it would have reduced it by the full six points, being, as it was, close to the posts.

They therefore had to wait until the 49th minute, for Croft to repeat his effort, this time having a much easier, clear-cut act of grounding, and at this point the Rhinos were really shaken.  The whole story of the second half, thus far, had been that of total Salford dominance, as, in fact, had the final quarter of the first half.

Virtually every set of possession, during the second forty had seen the Red Devils charging upfield, making in the region of sixty to eighty metres in each set, to the extent that the Leeds players looked almost completely out of energy, and there for the taking.  So confident were the visitors that they even scorned taking a penalty kick at goal, from directly in front of the posts, and even though they failed to score from the resultant set, it seemed almost inevitable that they would take the lead before long.

Sadly, this proved not to be the case, and a penalty goal took Leeds to six points ahead, and suddenly the balance of the game seemed to have swung the other way.  The Rhinos’ defence now appeared more resolute, and their reserves of energy had obviously been replenished by the reintroduction of some of their starting players, and others who had been spelled during the game.

Consequently, when an attacking pass to the right was intercepted by Super League’s top poacher, Handley, to race ninety metres for a try, the Salford players must have found this a little dispiriting, so much so that their grip on the game began to lessen.

Another Leeds penalty goal to accompany the sin-binning of Sitaleki Akauola, increased the home lead to 28-14, and the twelve remaining Salford players were then unable to hold out against Martin’s scoring his second try, which alongside his highly successful goal-kicking, had done so much to damage Salford’s aspirations.

So the Headingley jinx remains, but there was just so much that was positive, in that mid-match period.  Indeed, for a neutral spectator it must have been a wonderful whole afternoon’s spectacle of attacking rugby from both sides – presumably exactly what had been envisaged by those who had first advocated and instigated summer rugby – and many of us were there to enjoy it.  Winning would, of course, have capped it all, but maybe we should not let the result completely deprive us of the enjoyment and excitement our team’s performance contributed to such an entertaining match.

RED DEVILS IN DEPTH: SALFORD V LEEDS (2)

Just six weeks after the Leeds Rhinos had been beaten 26-12, at the A J Bell Stadium, in Round 6, they returned for a repeat encounter, yesterday, when they, once more, had to return back over the Pennines, having lost again, and by a score remarkably similar to that first fixture.

Things had moved on apace between the two matches, though, with the visitors playing this, their first match under the supervision of brand-new coach, Rohan Smith, and the significance of any team performing under the eagle eye of a new man at the top, cannot be overstated.  All too often, this additional pressure suffices to bring out in them a sudden return to form, with an unexpected victory to welcome their new coach’s tenure at the club.

Salford, on the other hand, following a somewhat disappointing Easter weekend, at Warrington and then at home to Catalans, had suddenly produced a vein of form we had not seen in previous rounds, in the closest of contests at Wigan, and then St Helens.  Indeed, the match at St Helens could have gone either way, and many left the Totally Wicked Stadium convinced that the better team had lost.

The return of a number of players, who had missed those two outings, served to bolster them for this contest, as did the inclusion, on the bench, of new signing, Tyler Dupree, who had only completed his move to join the Reds at the start of the week, but, nevertheless, played his part in producing our fourth win of the season.

The first half produced a most intriguing contest between what, in the early stages of the game, appeared to be two evenly matched sides, and judged solely upon the very few stoppages throughout the forty, provided spectators on both sides with full value for money.

When the stalemate was eventually broken, it was Salford who took the match to another level with two extremely well-supported tries.  In fact, three of their four such scores were built on support work of the highest order, and were a sheer joy to watch, with Deon Cross, once again showing what a class act he is at centre, feeding Ken Sio for the opening try, in almost identical fashion to the one which had turned the previous Leeds encounter in Salford’s favour.

Sio was unfortunate not to increase his tally on a couple of other occasions, the clearest of which chances, unusually, saw him unable to fully control the ball as he received it.  Only two minutes after taking the lead, the Red Devils showed that they are every bit as lethal on either flank, when good work from Jack Ormoroyd put Tim Lafae in the clear, and his pass  gave Joe Burgess a clear run to the line.

It was sheer intensive pressure which produced their third score, with Leeds’s defence thrown into turmoil by Brodie Croft’s kick to the try line  being fumbled, and Andy Ackers benefiting from being in the right place at the right time to ground between the posts.

So intense had the opening forty minutes proven to be that by the middle of the second period, both sides began to look quite tired, yet were still prepared to give whatever they could to the game.  The second half was therefore a rather less spectacular affair, with a stalemate developing between the pair with errors through fatigue increasing, though, with a twelve-point lead, it was Salford in whose favour time marched on.

The acquisition of a single point, from a Marc Sneyd drop goal, was undoubtedly the most crucial event of the half, for, if the Rhinos were finding it troublesome eating into a two-score lead, they were certainly going to have problems scoring, on three occasions.  Almost as if to celebrate that fact, the Reds took the game beyond the visitors, when man of the match Croft made a clean break to set up the supporting Ryan Brierley for the final try.

Exciting, and rewarding, as their attack was, it was their absolutely magnificent defence, during the arm-wrestles which developed in both halves, that kept them in control throughout.  Two, incredible one-on-one tackles, midway through the first half, by Kallum Watkins and then Cross, close to their own line, must have been sheer inspiration to the rest of the side, particularly when the going got really tough, in the later stages.

That they kept Leeds to only a pair of tries, one in each half and  with these having relatively little impact on the game. was testament to their commitment, throughout.  Leeds might not have been at their best, but the same was also said about both Wigan and St Helens.

The common factor in all of these fixtures has been the Red Devils’ resilience in repelling and thwarting all three sides over the full eighty minutes, and while they continue to do this, they will win far more matches than they lose.

PREVIEW: SALFORD RED DEVILS VS LEEDS RHINOS | SUNDAY 15TH MAY 2022

Salford Red Devils host Leeds Rhinos at the The Salford Stadium this afternoon in Round 12 of the Betfred Super League.

After a hectic Easter period, Paul Rowley’s players were faced with a welcome two-week break to rest and recharge ahead of some vital fixtures.

Next up is the visit of Leeds Rhinos, who – after a poor start to the season – have picked up back-to-back league wins against Toulouse Olympique and Hull KR.

Leeds have also recently appointed Rohan Smith as their new boss, and the Aussie will be in the dugout for the first time this weekend.

The two sides last met in mid-March, and it was Salford who picked up the two points in emphatic style, coming from behind with three late tries. The first of them came from a stunning 60-metre run from Joe Burgess, with his skill allowing the Red Devils to create an overload on the right – which Chris Atkin took advantage of.

Speaking of Burgess, the winger has rejoined Rowley’s 21-man squad after recovering from his knee injury. Alongside him, Ryan Brierley, Tim Lafai, Marc Sneyd, Harvey Livett, and Elijah Taylor are all back fit and in contention to feature.

The Red Devils’ players may have had the chance to rest and recharge over the last 14 days, but the club has completed some positive business on multiple fronts. Deon Cross, Kallum Watkins, and Andy Ackers have all signed contract extensions, whilst we also welcomed the signing of Tyler Dupree from Widnes Vikings.

Speaking to the press ahead of the game on Sunday, assistant coach Kurt Haggerty discussed how the club is trying to lay the foundations for the future with these sorts of deals.

He said: “Ideally we want to retain our best, move people on if we have to, but bring in quality – so we’ll always be looking. For example, Tyler Dupree is somebody we’ve been monitoring and an opportunity arose to get him in early. We want to get business done early and start moving forward to put things in place that we want moving forward for the club.”

Focussing particularly on Dupree, Haggerty said: “He’s a very exciting young man, he’s got some very good attributes which certainly show that he is Super League quality. He’s a project, but he’s someone who has shown that he can be a very good player.”

Despite being tipped for a high finish in the Betfred Super League this season, Leeds have yet to really find any momentum, and they’ll be hoping the change of head coach will give them a new lease of life. Haggerty says he’s aware of the qualities the new coach brings and expects fresh energy about the Rhinos on Sunday.

Haggerty stated: “Yeah, I think it’ll be very different this week. They’ve got a new coach, which – as always – will bring new enthusiasm, probably a much-needed enthusiasm. They’ve got some new personnel coming in, some of the bans are up and they’ve got some injuries back, so it’s very much focussed on us, focussed on Salford and what we can do.

“They’ve been quite difficult to preview because the personnel has been so different in the last 3 to 4 games. I know Rohan (Smith) quite well, he’s a fantastic coach, very personable – so we’ll have to be on our game to match Leeds this week.”

Tickets are on sale HERE right up to the 3pm kick-off at the The Salford Stadium this afternoon.

RED DEVILS IN DEPTH: SALFORD V LEEDS

Two minutes of  talent, skill, and sheer opportunism, from two of Salford’s stand out players provided the game-changing moment, in last Friday’s home encounter with the Leeds Rhinos, when the Red Devils went from being under pressure to taking the lead, and, with it, dominance and control, for the remaining ten minutes of the game.

It started with the first of the twosome, Joe Burgess, collecting an overly weighted Leeds kick into the Salford in-goal area, racing to the twenty-metre line to take the tap restart, and then scything through the Rhinos’ disjointed defence, shrugging off attempted tackles, eventually, to be pulled down close to Leeds’s twenty.

That run immediately put Salford on the front foot, as the whole team had to race up for the play-the-ball, which then passed through the hands of the still advancing attack into the arms of Dion Cross.

Showing the talent of an absolutely top-class centre, he straightened up as if to go for the score himself, but then, having drawn the defence, sent out the sweetest of passes straight into the arms of Chris Atkin to romp in at the corner.  It was a piece of skill reminiscent of our own former international centre, Martin Gleeson.

Marc Sneyd’s goal from the touchline was all that was needed to put the Red Devils into the driving seat, but the actual match winning kick had come much earlier, at the end of the first half.  An easy penalty, on the sin-binning of Brodie Thompson, from in front of the posts with only half a minute to go, was slotted over.

That goal, unremarkable as it might have seemed at the time, not only kept Salford in touch with the Rhinos for the first thirty minutes of the second half, it also ensured that Atkin’s converted try put them two points in front and gave them the same cushioning enjoyed by Hull KR, the previous week.  It, furthermore, gave them a two-score advantage, shortly afterwards, when skipper, Elijah Taylor, cut through to chalk up an eight point lead, which in turn opened the way for Ryan Brierley’s final score under the posts, after he had supported King Vuniyayawa’s brilliantly angled run.

Over the years, victories over Leeds have been very few and far between, making them all the better to savour when one does eventually come along.   This one might not have been a classic, but, if anything, the win was especially important to both sides, with them each coming off the back of a run of defeats.

The first half was as much one of missed opportunities, as chances taken, with Leeds having an Ash Handley, opening score disallowed for a double movement, after five minutes.  Joe Burgess had similar misfortune when he was slid into touch before crossing in the corner, shortly after the Rhinos had eventually opened the scoring.

In fact, Burgess’s runs down his left wing led to two tries, one in each half, for although denied this try for himself, he had put Salford on the attack, and they took advantage of the position for Ken Sio to latch onto Brierley’s kick into the corner, to level the score at six points each, after Sneyd’s first conversion.

With a score differential of only two points, at the resumption, the majority of the second half was an arm-wrestle, though with far too many errors to make it totally enthralling.  Leeds may have come out on top in the set-restarts because they gave theirs away on the first tackle of the set, whereas Salford’s were ususally well into the set, and occasionally on the very last tackle.

It was the sin-binning of two players, Thompson being replaced there by Zane Tetevano mid-way though the half, which cost them dear, leaving them with only twelve men for a total of twenty minutes.   The Reds, on the other hand kept their slate clean and the full team on duty, throughout the eighty minutes.

Now, with a visit to Wigan in the Challenge Cup, next week, Salford can only benefit from the slaying of one bogey side, to help with a repeat performance on Friday at the home of anoth

RED DEVILS IN DEPTH: SALFORD V LEEDS

Two minutes of  talent, skill, and sheer opportunism, from two of Salford’s stand out players provided the game-changing moment, in last Friday’s home encounter with the Leeds Rhinos, when the Red Devils went from being under pressure to taking the lead, and, with it, dominance and control, for the remaining ten minutes of the game.

It started with the first of the twosome, Joe Burgess, collecting an overly weighted Leeds kick into the Salford in-goal area, racing to the twenty-metre line to take the tap restart, and then scything through the Rhinos’ disjointed defence, shrugging off attempted tackles, eventually, to be pulled down close to Leeds’s twenty.

That run immediately put Salford on the front foot, as the whole team had to race up for the play-the-ball, which then passed through the hands of the still advancing attack into the arms of Dion Cross.

Showing the talent of an absolutely top-class centre, he straightened up as if to go for the score himself, but then, having drawn the defence, sent out the sweetest of passes straight into the arms of Chris Atkin to romp in at the corner.  It was a piece of skill reminiscent of our own former international centre, Martin Gleeson.

Marc Sneyd’s goal from the touchline was all that was needed to put the Red Devils into the driving seat, but the actual match winning kick had come much earlier, at the end of the first half.  An easy penalty, on the sin-binning of Brodie Thompson, from in front of the posts with only half a minute to go, was slotted over.

That goal, unremarkable as it might have seemed at the time, not only kept Salford in touch with the Rhinos for the first thirty minutes of the second half, it also ensured that Atkin’s converted try put them two points in front and gave them the same cushioning enjoyed by Hull KR, the previous week.  It, furthermore, gave them a two-score advantage, shortly afterwards, when skipper, Elijah Taylor, cut through to chalk up an eight point lead, which in turn opened the way for Ryan Brierley’s final score under the posts, after he had supported King Vuniyayawa’s brilliantly angled run.

Over the years, victories over Leeds have been very few and far between, making them all the better to savour when one does eventually come along.   This one might not have been a classic, but, if anything, the win was especially important to both sides, with them each coming off the back of a run of defeats.

The first half was as much one of missed opportunities, as chances taken, with Leeds having an Ash Handley, opening score disallowed for a double movement, after five minutes.  Joe Burgess had similar misfortune when he was slid into touch before crossing in the corner, shortly after the Rhinos had eventually opened the scoring.

In fact, Burgess’s runs down his left wing led to two tries, one in each half, for although denied this try for himself, he had put Salford on the attack, and they took advantage of the position for Ken Sio to latch onto Brierley’s kick into the corner, to level the score at six points each, after Sneyd’s first conversion.

With a score differential of only two points, at the resumption, the majority of the second half was an arm-wrestle, though with far too many errors to make it totally enthralling.  Leeds may have come out on top in the set-restarts because they gave theirs away on the first tackle of the set, whereas Salford’s were ususally well into the set, and occasionally on the very last tackle.

It was the sin-binning of two players, Thompson being replaced there by Zane Tetevano mid-way though the half, which cost them dear, leaving them with only twelve men for a total of twenty minutes.   The Reds, on the other hand kept their slate clean and the full team on duty, throughout the eighty minutes.

Now, with a visit to Wigan in the Challenge Cup, next week, Salford can only benefit from the slaying of one bogey side, to help with a repeat performance on Friday at the home of anoth

RED DEVILS IN DEPTH: SALFORD V HULL KR

A markedly improved second half performance brought the Salford Red Devils close, but not quite close enough, to stealing the game from the resurgent Robins, who had dominated the first forty minutes.

A half-time analysis of the situation, and their performance to that point, though, was sufficient to galvanise the team together for an onslaught on their eighteen points deficit, which almost came off in paying the highest of dividends.

As has been said before, eighteen points is not an insurmountable lead, particularly with a full forty minutes in which to do so.  Starting the half, as they were doing, however, with only twelve players on the field – Ryan Lannon having been sin-binned for the second successive week just before half – was not the ideal way.

Nevertheless, the Red Devils made light of the handicap, after only two minutes, with slick passing from a scrum fifteen metres out from the Hull line, putting Ken Sio in at the corner.  With Sneyd’s conversion from out wide, they were on their way, and only a couple of scores behind.

A much more energised competitive lead was now being given by the pack who were suddenly making great inroads, and good metres, into the visitors’ defence.  The whole approach to their attack consequently appeared much more confident and assured, and out of the blue the Robins found themselves on the back foot.

When, eventually on fifty-five minutes, Shane Wright won the race to touch down Sneyd’s kick-in-goal it came as little surprise.  What was more of a surprise was that the angle proved somewhat awkward for Sneyd’s conversion attempt, and the deficit remained at two scores.

Sneyd certainly made up for the miss, five minutes later, with an interception from within his own twenty metre area, from which he set up Joe Burgess with a clear run to the line, and there was no mistake this time with the extra two points.

The problem was that Salford were still in arears.  It might have been by only two points, but those two points gave Hull the little bit of cushioning they needed to be able to slow the game down, steady themselves, and build pressure of their own, whilst the Reds, on the other hand, were still having to play ‘catch-up’ football.

The hammer blow, though, came ten minutes from the end, when full back, Ryan Brierley, repeated an error he had made towards the end of the first half, misjudging and then failing to take, a high kick from Jordan Abdul, which, on both occasions led to tries from the irrepressible Mikey Lewis.  The eight-point deficit now possibly appeared larger than it was, because the Yorkshiremen then controlled the game so well, and it was they who added further to their score with a late penalty goal.

The damage though, had been done in the first half, when the Red Devils were below par in their overall performance.  Hull certainly showed their intent and determination from the outset, while Salford were slow out of the trap, and made too many handling errors on attack, which promptly gifted the visitors additional possession and field position.

Even the defence which had been so commendable the week before, was well below the standard they had shown then, as was exemplified by the gap left for Storton to slip through for Hull’s second try.

Whether all of this was caused by the significant amount of energy they had had to expend at Huddersfield, and followed by a short turnaround, or attributable to some other reason, is unknown, but it was encouraging to witness the considerable upturn in their performance in that first thirty minutes of the second half, the quality of which will undoubtedly be beneficial in this coming Friday’s fixture with Leeds Rhinos.

Salford sign Fijian prop King Vuniyayawa

Salford Red Devils are delighted to announce the signing of Fijian international King Vuniyayawa on a two-year contract.

Prop or second-row forward, Vuniyayawa joins the Red Devils from fellow Betfred Super League side Leeds Rhinos.

The 26-year-old began his career in the NRL with New Zealand Warriors, before making the switch to Super League ahead of the 2021 season.

Speaking on signing for Salford, Vuniyayawa said: “I decided to come to Salford to take on new challenges and to keep progressing in terms of my footy.

Super League footy is quite different to NRL footy, so learning to adjust to the game and how they play over here has taken a bit of time for me but I’m getting there.

“With joining the Devils, I feel like it’s a good move for me to focus on myself and what I can bring to the team.”

Director of rugby and operations Ian Blease commented: “I am pleased and excited to bring in a quality player like King Vuniyayawa to the Red Devils for the next two seasons.

“King will add some strength and size to our pack as we continue to build our squad for 2022 & onwards. Going forward King will get the opportunity to build his career with the Red Devils having agreed to join us from the Leeds Rhinos.

As a club, we will work hard with and give King our full backing to enable him to become a leading Super League forward.”

Join King in 2022 by purchasing an early bird season ticket HERE.

MATCH REPORT | LEEDS RHINOS 38-16 SALFORD RED DEVILS | FRIDAY 23RD JULY 2021

Despite a positive end to the game for Marshall’s men, Salford Red Devils fell to a 38-16 defeat away to Leeds Rhinos tonight in Round 15 of the Betfred Super League.

Three tries in the first forty from the hosts made it 20-0 at the break, and although the Red Devils responded in the second half, they could not quite hold off the Leeds attack.

Harry Newman was first on the scoreboard after seven minutes, going over in the left corner after some quick hands from Leeds’ left edge.

The hosts exploited Salford’s right edge again minutes later but this time it was Kruise Leeming who grounded the ball down the left.

Leeds received a penalty in the 23rd minute after Seb Ikahihifo was penalised for a dangerous tackle, and the Rhinos opted for the two – Rhyse Martin converting.

Leeming doubled his try tally just after the half-hour mark, strolling over behind the sticks.

Halftime: Leeds Rhinos 20-0 Salford Red Devils

Salford started the second forty a lot better than they started the first, getting themselves on the scoreboard in the 47th minute after Morgan Escare fed Ken Sio to dive over down the right wing.

Minutes later, poor discipline punished Salford again after Lolohea and Ikahihifo both were sin-binned.

The next ten minutes saw Callum Mclelland and King Vuniyayawa score for Leeds, before the Red Devils were back on the scoreboard once more.

Sio ran almost the entire length of the field but a pursuing wave of Leeds players meant he was forced to kick the ball into the direction of Lolohea, who was first to the loose ball to go over in the right corner.

Leeds captain Matt Prior scurried over the line to the left of the sticks in the 74th minute but it was Salford who scored the last try of the evening, Inu powering over. Richard Myler saw yellow with three minutes to go, but he and his teammates took the two points at the final hooter.

Fulltime: Leeds Rhinos 20-0 Salford Red Devils

Leeds Rhinos: Myler, Briscoe, Hurrell, Newman, Handley, Sutcliffe, Mclelland, Prior, Leeming, Vuniyayawa, Mellor, Martin, O’Connor, Dwyer, Briscoe, Donaldson, Smith, Agar.

Leeds tries: Newman, Leeming (2), Mclelland, Vuniyayawa, Prior

Leeds goals: Martin (6/7)

Salford Red Devils: Escare, Sio, Inu, Livett, Williams, Lolohea, Atkin, Mossop, Ackers, Ormondroyd, Wells, Pauli, Lannon, Hingano, Ikahihifo, Luckley, Roberts.

Salford tries: Sio, Lolohea, Inu

Salford goals: Inu (2/3)

Referee: Ben Thaler

Image credit: Steve McCormick

TICKETS ON SALE FOR LEEDS AWAY

Our Betfred Super League Round 15 game against Leeds Rhinos at Emerald Headingly Stadium on Friday 23rd July, kick off 7:45pm, is now on sale.

With restrictions now lifted, the game is open for anyone to attend. Tickets can be purchased online. For those that may struggle with the online service, you can email the ticketoffice@ajbellstadium.co.uk with your enquiry and contact number or call 0161 786 1570 and press Option 1. Tickets can also be purchased from the stadium between the hours of 10am – 4pm, any fans entering the stadium are asked to wear a mask.

The last time Salford fans attending a game at Emerald Headingley was on 6th September 2019, when the Red Devils ended a 13-year draught of no wins at Leeds’ ground by beating the Rhinos 20 points to 12.

Ticket prices are below:

Standing:

  • Adult: £24 (£27 on the day)
  • Concession: (senior 65+, students, 17-20, Disabled) £16 (£19 on the day)
  • Junior ST: £5 (£15 on the day)
  • Junior non-ST: £12 (£15 on the day)
  • Under 5s: Do not need a ticket for standing area.

Seating:

  • Adult: £32 (£35 on the day)
  • Concession: (senior 65+, students, 17-20, Disabled) £25 (£28 on the day)
  • Junior ST: £5 (£23 on the day)
  • Junior non-ST: £20 (£23 on the day)
  • Under 5s: £8

Wheelchair users should contact Leeds Direct on 03714231315 or email tickets@leedsrugby.com. Ambulant Disabled supporters need to contact the AJ Bell stadium ticket office as carer tickets are not available online.

Although restrictions have now been lifted, we still advise everyone to follow the guidance set out below by the RFL:

  • Please vaccinate where possible to maximise protection to fellow supporters and members of staff.  Vaccination remains a key priority in the response to the pandemic.
  • Use the Government’s offer of free lateral flow tests; consider taking one before you travel.
  • If travelling via public transport, please adhere to the relevant guidance.
  • Respect the rules of the venue you are attending and check in advance to see what is required.
  • Wear face coverings in busy indoor areas
  • Ensure you are familiar with social distancing restrictions where these apply
  • Treat stewards with respect and respond to their requests.
  • Do not attend if you have symptoms or are in any doubt about your health.

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