Salford Red Devils are delighted to confirm an exciting new partnership with Bupa UK which will see the healthcare provider sponsor the pitch side team.
Bupa UK recently opened its largest office, Bupa Place, in Salford Quays and, much like Salford Red Devils, is looking to work closely with the Salford community. Across the UK, Bupa has around 2.2m insurance customers, provides care to 3.3m customers within its dental centres, health clinics and Bupa Cromwell Hospital, and has 6,800 residents across care homes and retirement villages.
Director of Rugby and Operations, Ian Blease, said: “This is a really exciting and promising partnership for both parties.
“With a big part of Bupa’s UK business being based at Salford Quays it makes complete sense for us to link-up with them as we continue to embed ourselves further into the Salford community.
“We’re delighted to now be partnered with a globally recognisable brand like Bupa and it shows a real ambition from the Club.
“We’re continuing to welcome new businesses and partners to Salford Red Devils all the time and this is just a sign of the positive direction the Club is moving in.”
Wayne Close, General Manager, Bupa Health Services, said: “Our new building in Salford Quays, Bupa Place, houses over 2,000 employees which makes us a major employer in the area. With this comes a responsibility to support our local community and we’re delighted to partner with the Salford Red Devils.
“This is part of a growing range of initiatives we are now looking to develop for residents of Salford and throughout Manchester.”
Bupa’s branding will feature on the pitch side team throughout the 2019 season which includes Assistant Coach Martin Gleeson and the medical team.
Tag: Martin Gleeson
Event | Salford RLFC Supporters’ Trust to host annual meeting
The annual meeting of the Salford RLFC Supporters’ 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 Supporters’ 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 for Salford Red Devils’ next pre-season friendly are available to purchase at the Club Ticket Office, over the phone on 0161 786 1570 or online HERE. For a reminder of ticket prices, click HERE.
Salford Red Devils 2019 Season Tickets are still available to purchase from the Club Ticket Office, over the phone on 0161 786 1570 or online HERE. You can spread the cost via Direct Debit payments, for more details, click HERE.
Martin Gleeson | “I believe we can come up with the win”
With the England v New Zealand Test Match, in Denver, having provided what must have been a most welcome blank weekend for the rest of Super League, the Salford Red Devils return to action on Friday evening, suitably rested, as they make the short trip to neighbours, Warrington Wolves.
The benefits of the extended break are detailed to us by assistant coach, Martin Gleeson.
“It’s a good chance to give the bodies a rest and a few days off, while at the same time having an extra couple of training days, when the players have come back fresh. In those we can brush up on a few things and then work more specifically on certain aspects of our game that really need it.
“Everyone of the players is fully aware of what they should be doing in every game, but the main things we need to improve upon are our discipline and ball retention. That is what has been costing us in so many matches, because you cannot produce a quality performance when you are giving away a lot of penalties and dropping the ball.
“Thankfully, we went some way towards putting that right, last time out, against Widnes, when we all saw just how competitive we can be when we get those elements right.”
Having seemingly turned the corner with their second half performance at Hull, and having backed that up with a home victory against the Vikings, attention now turns to this coming weekend’s fixture with Warrington.
“If we don’t put ourselves under too much unnecessary pressure we are capable of beating them. They have some high quality, individuals, and that will make it tough, but if we can produce the same kind of performance we did against Widnes, I believe we can come up with the win.
“On the other hand, if we fail to measure up in this respect, that is when the likes of Benny Murdoch-Masila, Chris Hill, and Josh Charnley will get opportunities to make us pay. They are all quick, and if they are running at a tired defence which has been doing more defending than attacking, those quality players are going to cause us problems.
“We have to play well to compete with them, and if we don’t we are not going to win.”
Stark as that warning, is, it comes in the context of a mere handful of games left in the regular season.
“Every point we can get now is crucial, and we could do with getting every one available to us, but even if we don’t get those points we have still got to stay in games and be competitive to the end, so that whichever competition we move onto next, we are in a good run of form.
“So, even on occasions when we don’t get the result we have got to come up with a good performance, in order to generate that momentum for the next stage of the season.”
Looking at the fixture list on paper, this week’s encounter would appear to be the toughest of them all, particularly with it being an away fixture against one of the leading sides in this year’s competition.
“We would certainly be expecting our home matches to produce good results, and having beaten Castleford here last year is some encouragement in this, but they are all going to be tough in the run in.”
The recent strengthening of the squad, with the acquisition of prop, Greg Burke, and utility back, Ed Chamberlain, will undoubtedly go some way towards helping matters.
“Greg is a Wiganer who has come from a good rugby background, and experienced a highly competitive team environment, so with Lee Mossop and Mark Flanagan missing last time out, he was perfect to come in and shoulder some responsibility, which he did really well. It’s good to have him on board.
“The try he scored was quite pivotal in the outcome, and it came from our pressure, as a result of getting back-to-back sets.
“Ed will bring some much-needed competition for places, in the backs.”
Factfile | Catalans Dragons vs Salford Red Devils | Dacia Magic Weekend
We’ve got a special stat-packed ‘Factfile’ this week covering everything you need to know about Salford’s history at the Dacia Magic Weekend and our upcoming fixture against Catalans Dragons.
Magic Weekend
Salford are one of eleven teams to have featured at the Magic Weekend on ten or more occasions. The Red Devils have competed at the Magic Weekend ten times, the same amount as Castleford Tigers and Hull Kingston Rovers.
Salford currently sit 9th in the all-time Magic Weekend table with eight points (four wins), the same as Hull FC with the Black and Whites having played one more game at the event. A win against Catalans on Sunday would see Ian Watson’s side climb to 8th in the all-time table as they currently trail the Dragons by one point however the Frenchmen have played one more fixture at the Magic Weekend.
Salford at the Magic Weekend
Salford’s Magic Weekend record didn’t get off to a good start with the Red Devils failing to win any of their opening four games at the event.
Warrington beat Salford in Cardiff in 2007 18-50 in a season which saw the Red Devils relegated meaning they missed out on a place in Cardiff the year after.
Once Salford returned to the top flight they suffered defeats in Edinburgh in 2009 and 2010. Harlequins beat Salford 16-24 before Warrington once again earned a dominant victory, 16-68.
Wales-based Crusaders overcame Salford 42-12 in 2011 as the Magic Weekend returned to Cardiff. However, the Dacia Magic Weekend moved closer to home and it garnered the Red Devils first win at the event as Adam Sidlow’s late try won the game 38-34 against Huddersfield Giants.
Another year in Manchester marked another victory for Salford as they edged out Widnes Vikings 28-22. However, Salford couldn’t remain unbeaten at the Etihad Stadium as the Vikings returned the favour a year later with a 30-24 win.
Widnes and Salford shared victories in the first two events at Newcastle’s St James’ Park. The Red Devils won their most recent Dacia Magic Weekend fixture with a 22-36 win over event debutants Leigh Centurions in the Toon.
Catalans at the Magic Weekend
Catalans have a similar record to Salford at the Dacia Magic Weekend winning four, losing six however they have played an extra game which they drew.
The Frenchmen’s first two Magic Weekend appearances came against Harlequins RL (Now London Broncos) with a narrow 28-32 in 2007 before an even smaller margin of victory a year later as Catalans won 18-16.
In Edinburgh, Catalans suffered defeats to Leeds and Castleford before another loss at the hands of Harlequins RL in Cardiff in 2011. The Dragons finally ended their losing-streak at the Dacia Magic Weekend in 2012 as they overcame London Broncos (Previously known as Harlequins RL).
A 42-18 win over London in 2012 was followed up by an almost identical win in 2013 as they ran-out 46-18 win at the Etihad Stadium. Catalans earned a two-point victory over London in 2014 at Newcastle before a 22-22 draw with Huddersfield Giants in 2015.
Wakefield Trinity edged out the French side thanks to a monster Jacob Miller drop-goal in 2016 before Catalans lost to Huddersfield 10-18 in last year’s event.
Scoring in Salford games at Magic Weekend
Luke Dorn crossed for Salford’s first-ever Dacia Magic Weekend try in the 18-50 loss against Warrington in 2007. Martin Gleeson crossed in this game for Warrington and would score for Salford in the event six years later.
Dorn – alongside Gleeson – was a player who scored both for and against Salford at the Dacia Magic Weekend as he crossed for Harlequins RL when the sides met in 2009. Richie Myler is also amongst the list of players to score for and against Salford crossing for the Red Devils in 2009 before scoring a brace for Wire a year later in 2010.
Stefan Ratchford scored a brace for Salford in this game which he followed up with another double a year later against Warrington. Ratchford is Salford’s all-time top try-scorer at the event with four tries.
While Ratchford sits on two doubles at the event there’s a host of other Red Devils who have also scored braces at the Dacia Magic Weekend – Joel Moon (2012), Jodie Broughton (2012), Adam Sidlow (2012), Jordan James (2013), Daniel Vidot (2016), Ben Murdoch-Masila (2017) and Greg Johnson (2017). Salford are yet to have a player score a hat-trick at the Dacia Magic Weekend.
However, three players have scored hat-tricks against the Red Devils at the Dacia Magic Weekend – Michael Witt (Crusaders, 2011), Joe Mellor (Widnes, 2013) and Kevin Brown (Widnes, 2015).
Of the current squad, Greg Johnson leads the way with Dacia Magic Weekend tries sitting on three after a double last year against Leigh Centurions alongside a solitary try versus Widnes in 2015. Junior Sa’u (2014), Kris Welham (2017) and Niall Evalds (2017) are the other current Salford players to score for the Club at the event.
Head-to-Head
Salford Red Devils and Catalans Dragons have had shared success in recent seasons with three wins apiece in the fixture since a memorable 40-40 draw in March 2015.
The Red Devils have won each of the last two meetings between the teams both coming in the form of dominant home victories at the The Salford Stadium – 32-16 (March 2018), 50-12 (May 2017).
The back and forth results against each other have been a regular feature since Catalans’ inclusion into Betfred Super League with Salford winning 11, the Dragons winning on 12 occasions and there being one draw between the two sides.
This will be the first-ever meeting between the sides at the Dacia Magic Weekend.
Community | Langworthy Reds get training masterclass from Red Devils
Salford first team players Jake Bibby and Ryan Lannon went down to local community club Langworthy Reds with Red Devils Assistant Coaches Martin Gleeson and Willie Poching to give their U9’s a coaching masterclass.
The youngsters were given defensive drills focusing on tackle technique, holding their line and one-on-one defence. Langworthy Reds have given us some exceptional feedback from the evening and we all hope their U9’s kick on and use what they’ve learned in their upcoming fixtures.
Watch highlights of the session below:
Martin Gleeson | “We just have to go out and do the job”
Firmly on the back of a successful visit to Yorkshire, the two points from which pushed the Red Devils into the top eight for the first time this season, attention turns now to the task of remaining there and by building upon that win making further progress up the table.
With the visit of Wakefield on Friday evening, comes the first chance of so doing, as the Yorkshiremen, fresh from their remarkable victory over St Helens, look themselves to consolidate their league position immediately above us.
The importance of this game, therefore, is quite considerable, but then, so too, was the Huddersfield game, this time last week – a fact certainly not wasted on Assistant Coach, Martin Gleeson.
Gleeson said: “That was definitely one we needed, because it keeps us in touch with the others up there, and the lads worked really hard for it. We did what we set out to do, which was putting a lot of pressure on the opposition and being disciplined in the early stages, which puts you in a good position for the rest of the game.
“The difficulty comes when you drift away from that, and then the tables are reversed, and you end up putting yourself under pressure from them. When we are disciplined we can play really well as we showed in the early and later stages of the game.”
The requirement for them, therefore, is to ensure on Friday that they sustain their disciplined approach throughout the game, which will more than assist them in their task.
“Wakefield are a really good side, especially with the ball, as they have smart half backs, and fast three-quarters, but we have given them a good game already this season. We have been practising a game plan today which we think will combat them, so if we stick to what we have planned we will be able to cause them some problems.”
Memories of our early season visit seem to have lingered through the club, throughout the intervening months, as a game we really could have won, and the opportunity to square things up will be most welcome to us all.
“We didn’t start very well, that evening, and we ended up chasing the game, mainly because we weren’t patient enough, trying to score tries from the kick off, which led to us making errors, and we just looked a bit over-eager, while our execution was a bit rusty. I believe that going into this game, though, we can get a result.”
The decision to present Ben Nakubuwai with another starting role with us, last Sunday, certainly paid dividends as he repaid the faith in him by backing up Mark Flanagan’s break to score Salford’s second try.
“We analyse people’s performances week in week out, while also assessing the nature of the anticipated game, to determine just how the players should be used to best fit the requirements of each game.
“Ben had certainly made progress over the weeks, and he is quick and has good footwork for a big man playing in the middles, which is where we are wanting him to play. He took his opportunity really well.
As things turned out, the match developed into a fairly rough encounter, the consequence of which was that a few injuries came along to complicate things this week.
“We picked up a handful of injuries some of which could limit chances of selection. It’s the result of the Easter period, and at the moment we still don’t know what the team is likely to be.”
Foresight has determined, however, that the squad now comprises of players of relatively similar quality, primarily so that the change of personnel should not be an overly massive issue, these days.
“That is especially true of the forwards, where we do have a bit of depth, so we will have players to step in and take over. We just have to go out and do the job.”
Red Devils enjoy Daytona racing experience
Despite having a rare weekend off the Red Devils player’s competitive nature hasn’t been pushed aside as the first team went racing at Daytona Manchester.
The unlikely duo of Kris Welham and Weller Hauraki came in first place while Jordan Walne and Jack Ratcliffe were in 2nd with the coaching team of Martin Gleeson and Ian Watson earning a bronze medal.
Red Devils Head Coach Ian Watson said: “It’s always good to do stuff like this it’s keeps a good energy in the camp and gives the players a bit of time to relax.
“This week off is going to be good for us, we need to find a balance between training and freshening people up mentally and physically as well.
“Other teams have had weeks off to freshen up and to be honest some of our guys are probably mentally beat at the moment.
“Hopefully it’ll give us time to get a couple of players back too and get some experience back in the side.”
Red Devils CEO Ian Blease added: “In the difficult spells, it’s important that you keep a strong bond between the lads and keep morale high in the camp which everyone here at Salford is fully aware of.
“The on-the-field stuff can become all-encompassing at times and sometimes you just need to take a step back and have a bit of time to relax, recover and recharge the batteries.
“That’s what the lads have done this week, they’ve had a bit of a break and we’ve had them out at things such as the Daytona racing to keep spirits high and to ease the pressure on them.
“We’ve got four massive games coming up so we want the lads to be in the perfect physical and mental state to give it all they’ve got and we feel that allowing a bit of down time was the ideal way to do so.”
Tickets are on sale for all Red Devils Super 8s home games as we look to fill The Shed against Wakefield. Fans can buy their tickets over the phone, at the club ticket office or online by clicking here. Supporters are reminded that season tickets are valid for all Super 8s home games.
Martin Gleeson – "It's going to be a special night"
Salford Red Devils Assistant Coach Martin Gleeson, speaking to Rugby AM, feels his testimonial Lancashire vs Yorkshire match is going to be a ‘special night’.
Gleeson said: “Lancashire vs Yorkshire, I was lucky enough to play back in 2002 which Lancashire won, by the way.
“It’s going to be a special night everyone is doing work behind the scenes getting ready for this game it’s not going to be a game of touch and pass put it that way.
“There’s some big names lining up for both teams with bags of international experience and bags of Super League winner rings, Lance Todd’s – you name it.
“The teams are going to be littered with stars from the past who you probably won’t get to see again. It’s going to be a great occasion.
“We’ve got Sam Tomkins who is going to be coaching the Lancashire team he’s going to put us through a few drills and head that side of things up for us.”
Both sides have been calling each other out on social media with Lancashire’s Paul Wood and Yorkshire’s Wayne Godwin at the centre of the sledging.
Gleeson said: “There’s a lot of banter going around on social media namely from Wagga [Wayne Godwin] who I think out of all the accolades that people have won who are going to be playing that night I don’t think Wagga’s won anything – not one trophy.
“I think this match gives him his opportunity to win his first trophy I think so I think the pressure will get to him when he gets out there and he realises what’s at stake.
“We’ve got Mozza [Adrian Morley] and Barrie Mac [Barrie McDermott] who’ve been watching those videos and the calling out that Wagga’s been doing they’ll probably keep quiet on social media and leave it until the Wednesday night on the 30th.”
Assistant Coaches To Speak Prior To Super 8s Games
Our first Super 8s home game against Castleford Tigers on Friday 11th August will see the Red Devils launch a brand-new interactive format for our hospitality guests which will include a pre-match interview with a member of the coaching staff.
Assistant coaches Willie Poching or Martin Gleeson who have helped Ian Watson guide the Red Devils to their highest ever Super League finish and their first Ladbrokes Challenge Cup semi-final in almost twenty years.
Martin Gleeson has won both the Super League and Challenge Cup and enjoyed spells with clubs such as Huddersfield, St Helens, Warrington, Wigan and Hull before finishing his career with the Red Devils. The centre has also represented Lancashire, England and Great Britain.
Fellow coach Willie Poching is a former New Zealand and Samoan international who has featured for NRL powerhouses North Queensland Cowboys and St George Illawarra Dragons before moving to England. Poching represented Wakefield and Leeds in the Super League and won both the Super League and the World Club Challenge with the Rhinos.
Ian Watson will also speak at the event following the Castleford match and will give fans an insight into the tactics and pressure of a Super 8s match.
Listening to assistant coaches Willie Poaching or Martin Gleeson prior to the opening home game of the Super 8s will give fans an idea of what kind of preparations the players and coaches go through before a big game, the ins and outs of matchday for the squad and what it’s like to help Ian Watson on a daily basis.
The event will be hosted by fellow Rugby League legends Garreth Carvell and Robbie Hunter-Paul and will include a sumptuous three-course meal alongside a VIP seat to watch the game.
With the prize of an Old Trafford Grand Final appearance looming, hospitality at this huge game can be yours for the price of just 80+VAT.
To take advantage of this offer and occasion, email Fiona.woods@salfordreddevils.net, who will be happy to reserve your seat.
Don’t forget, if you can’t make it this week there are still three further Red Devils home games before the end of September so everybody can take part in our most amazing season in decades.
