MATCH PREVIEW | SALFORD RED DEVILS V ROCHDALE HORNETS | FRIDAY 12TH APRIL

Salford Red Devils host Rochdale Hornets at the The Salford Stadium in the Coral Challenge Cup clash.

Last time out

Salford will be looking for a win in today’s Challenge Cup clash after suffering a 16-23 loss to Hull FC last Sunday.
The Red Devils struggled to break through the Hull defence early on in the game, until Josh Jones managed to get a hand on Rob Lui’s low kick into touch.
With a further two tries from Niall Evalds and Jackson Hastings in the second half and a hat-trick from Hull FC’s Josh Griffin, it was Marc Sneyd’s kicking skills that won Hull the victory with five conversions and a drop-goal.


Rochdale also fell to a 24-48 loss in their previous Championship game against Halifax with Lee Mitchell, Jack Higginson, Ellis Robson and Carl Foster all going over for the Hornets.
Their visit to the The Salford Stadium will be Rochdale’s second Challenge Cup match after they won by a single point in a 21-22 victory against Whitehaven.

Form

Since Salford’s impressive 46-0 victory over Catalan Dragons, Sunday’s loss meant that the Red Devils fell to a fourth straight defeat; their longest losing run of the season so far.
Rochdale Hornets have also struggled in recent games, losing six of their last seven Championship matches.

Team News

Salford’s Head Coach Ian Watson has named his 19-man squad ahead of today’s game, bringing back Logan Tomkins and Adam Lawton.
Tomkins and Lawton will replace Mark Flanagan and Jansin Turgut.

Squad

Salford: Niall Evalds, Ed Chamberlain, Kris Welham, Junior Sau, Jake Bibby, Rob Lui, Gil Dudson, Josh Jones, George Griffin, Joey Lussick, Adam Walker, Greg Burke, Tyrone McCarthy, Ben Nakubuwai, Logan Tomkins, Derrell Olpherts, Adam Lawton, Krisnan Inu, Jackson Hastings.
Rochdale: Dec Kay, Shaun Ainscough, Seta Tala, Ben Morris, Dan Abram, Ben Moores, Lee Mitchell, Ellis Gillam, Dec Gregory, Mike Weldon, Liam Carberry, Ryan Millington, Joe Ryan, Jack Cottington, Callum Wood, Brandon Wood, Tyler Whittaker, Jack Higginson, Nathan Reidy.

Josh Jones and Niall Evalds selected in England Knights squad

Wigan and Huddersfield each have three newcomers in the 34-man England Knights Performance Squad announced today.
Dom Manfredi, who scored two tries in Wigan’s Betfred Super League Grand Final victory over Warrington last autumn, is joined by fellow winger Liam Marshall and Blackpool-born former Barrow forward Joe Bullock – lifting the Warriors’ representation in the KPS to five, as Tom Davies and Sam Powell are also included after impressing on the Knights tour of Papua New Guinea last autumn.
Matt English, Adam O’Brien and Darnell McIntosh are the three Huddersfield newcomers, meaning the Giants also have five players in the squad as Kruise Leeming and Oliver Roberts retain their places after call-ups last year.
Salford’s experienced second-row Josh Jones, the young St Helens forward Jack Ashworth, Castleford’s Gloucestershire-born forward Alex Foster and Leeds Rhinos’ Cameron Smith are the other four newcomers.
Warrington Wolves have the most players in the squad with six, followed by Leeds, Wigan and Huddersfield with five each.
The squad is completed by three players from St Helens, three from Castleford, two from each of Salford and Hull FC, plus James Batchelor of Wakefield Trinity, Hull KR’s Chris Atkin, and Matt Whitley of the Catalans Dragons.
The KPS will join the 30-man England Performance Squad at their first get-together of the season next month, and will hold a number of other meetings and training sessions in the remainder of the year – with at least one home fixture being planned for this autumn, when the senior Great Britain squad are on tour in New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
Paul Anderson, the England Knights head coach, said: β€œWe think this is an exciting group of players, all of whom know from their selection that they are very much in the thoughts of the England coaches.
β€œInvolvement in the Knights set-up gives them the chance to impress, as has been shown by the England debuts made by so many players from the KPS last year, and the inclusion in this year’s England Performance Squad of Robbie Mulhern and our 2018 captain Jack Hughes.
β€œThe trip to Papua New Guinea last year was such a memorable trip for all of us but also a massive benefit both physically and mentally as we develop elite level players for future tournaments, building towards the 2021 and 2025 World Cups.”

Β England Knights Performance Squad in full:

Alex Foster (Castleford Tigers, Wetherby Bulldogs)

Oliver Holmes (Castleford Tigers, Normanton Knights)

Greg Minikin (Castleford Tigers, Wetherby Bulldogs)

Matt Whitley (Catalans Dragons, Bold Miners)

Matt English (Huddersfield Giants, Stanley Rangers)

Kruise Leeming (Huddersfield Giants, Siddal)

Darnell McIntosh (Huddersfield Giants, Dewsbury Celtic)

Adam O’Brien (Huddersfield Giants, Siddal)

Oliver Roberts (Huddersfield Giants, Siddal)

Chris Atkin (Hull KR, Liverpool John Moores University)

Dean Hadley (Hull FC, Skirlaugh)

Masimbaashe Matongo (Hull FC, West Hull)

Ash Handley (Leeds Rhinos, Oulton Raiders)

Mikolaj Oledzki (Leeds Rhinos, Hunslet Warriors)

Cameron Smith (Leeds Rhinos, Lock Lane)

Liam Sutcliffe (Leeds Rhinos, Hunslet Warriors)

Jack Walker (Leeds Rhinos, East Leeds)

Niall Evalds (Salford Red Devils, Siddal)

Josh Jones (Salford Red Devils, Blackbrook Royals)

Jack Ashworth (St Helens, Rochdale Mayfield)

Matt Lees (St Helens, Rochdale Mayfield)

Danny Richardson (St Helens, Halton Farnworth Hornets)

James Batchelor (Wakefield Trinity, Crigglestone All Blacks)

Toby King (Warrington Wolves, Meltham All Blacks)

Tom Lineham (Warrington Wolves, York RUFC)

Harvey Livett (Warrington Wolves, Rylands Sharks)

Dec Patton (Warrington Wolves, Latchford Giants)

Joe Philbin (Warrington Wolves, Culcheth Eagles)

Danny Walker (Warrington Wolves, Rylands Sharks)

Joe Bullock (Wigan Warriors, Blackpool Scorpion)

Tom Davies (Wigan Warriors, Wigan St Patricks)

Liam Marshall (Wigan Warriors, Wigan St Patricks)

Dom Manfredi (Wigan Warriors, Leigh Miners)

Sam Powell (Wigan Warriors, Wigan St Patricks)

Talking Points | Catalans Dragons 0-46 Salford Red Devils

Salford Red DevilsΒ earned a huge 0-46 victory overΒ Catalans Dragons to move up to 4th in the Betfred Super League and we take a look at some of the keyΒ talking points from the dominantΒ display.

Blistering Bibby

Jake Bibby made his first appearance of the 2019 Betfred Super League season and what an appearance it was. Bibby – who has predominantly featured on the wing for Salford – was named at centre and put on a fantastic attacking display down the left-hand side.
The 23-year-old crossed for two tries and also notched two try-assists. Bibby finished breakaway tries either side of half-time firstly planting down a Jackson Hastings kick before taking an offload and linking up with the halfback again to score just one minute after the interval.


Bibby was a constant threat for the Red Devils on the left-hand side and got his hands free on a number of occasions to offload the ball. Two of his offloads led to tries firstly his flick to Niall Evalds who punted the ball down field with George Griffin eventually finishing the move before Bibby returned the favour to Hastings as he flicked the ball out to the Australian for him to find the try-line.
The centre’s inclusion came about due to an injury to Junior Sa’u who had been ever-present up until this weekend. Bibby’s performance has emphasised the strength in depth in Ian Watson’s squad particularly in the centres alongside Kris Welham, Junior Sa’u and Ed Chamberlain.

Dogged Defence

Throughout the 2019 season so far, Head Coach Ian Watson has continuously made it clear that defence will win Salford Red Devils games, and this is something they have been working hard on which has been evident in the opening weeks of the season.
Salford Red Devils nilled London Broncos in Round Two of the 2019 season and this was the first time they had kept a team scoreless in the Betfred Super League since 2006. They also went on to keep Hull Kingston Rovers scoreless in the second half of their recent meeting which allowed a memorable comeback at KCOM Craven Park.

That resilient defence continued this weekend as the Red Devils managed to keep Catalans to nil in a fantastic performance. In the second half, Catalans did earn a number of repeated sets on the Salford line, but Ian Watson’s men stood firm and denied the Dragons.
It is extremely difficult to keep a side scoreless particularly away from home. The Red Devils will no doubt take confidence from this and be looking to carry this dogged defence into next weekend’s fixture against Castleford Tigers.

Away Form

It may be too early in the season to start discussing β€˜form’ however one thing that is clear is Salford Red Devils’ improvement on the road in the early stages of the 2019 Betfred Super League season.
Last year, the Red Devils won just one away game in the Betfred Super League and they have already trebled that tally in 2019. They earned yet another away victory against Huddersfield before an impressive comeback win against Hull Kingston Rovers.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BuzH4mhnoh9/
However, a 0-46 win over Catalans in Perpignan is certainly the most impressive victory so far considering the Red Devils hadn’t come away from the south of France with two points for eight long years.
This form has been helped by some brilliant travelling support from the Red Devils faithful at Huddersfield Giants, Hull Kingston Rovers and Catalans Dragons. This is something Ian Watson eluded to in his post-match press conference at the Stade Gilbert Brutus.

Lawton DebutsΒ 

Off-season signing Adam Lawton made his Betfred Super League bow for the Red Devils this weekend at Catalans coming off the interchange bench in the second half. Lawton had spent the last month on loan with Betfred Championship side Rochdale Hornets for whom he powered over for three tries.
While Lawton didn’t cross for a try, he immediately settled at the top level and didn’t put a foot wrong. Catalans had begun to apply a lot of pressure to the Salford line as Lawton entered the fray, but the former Widnes man stood strong and defended a number of goal line sets to help keep the Dragons out.

Lawton will be looking to push for a regular spot in the Salford side throughout the 2019 season and there is no question that the big man will cause issues for Betfred Super League defences with ball in hand.
 
Tickets for Salford Red Devils next fixture against Castleford Tigers at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle on Sunday 17thΒ March are now available from the Club Ticket Office and over theΒ phone on 0161 786 1570. For ticket and coachΒ details,Β click HERE.
Salford Red Devils next home fixture sees them welcome WiganΒ Warriors to the The Salford Stadium on Sunday 24th March and you can purchase tickets from the Club Ticket Office, overΒ the phone on 0161 786 1570 orΒ online HERE. For ticket prices, click HERE.

Match Report | Catalans Dragons 0-46 Salford Red Devils

Β Salford Red Devils ended an eight year wait for a victory in Perpignan in emphatic fashion with a dominant 0-46 win over Catalans Dragons.
Jake Bibby and George Griffin both scored twice while Joey Lussick, Jackson Hastings, Niall Evalds and Ken Sio all also found the try-line in a rampant evening at the Stade Gilbert Brutus for Ian Watson’s men.
It took just eight minutes for the Red Devils to take the lead as Lussick burrowed his way over from acting halfback in almost identical fashion to his tries against Leeds Rhinos and Hull Kingston Rovers earlier in the season. Sio converted.
A real arm-wrestle ensued throughout the first half but Salford were on top and they took their chance to further their lead when Sio slotted a penalty goal after 27 minutes.
As half-time drew closer, Salford turned on the style with two tries in quick succession. Griffin sliced through the Catalans defence to score from close-range before Bibby scored on the hooter. The Dragons put the ball to ground and a sensational pick up from Sio got Salford on the break. Hastings kicked forward for the winger who narrowly missed the ball, but Bibby was on hand to finish a great try. Sio converted the first to give Salford an 18-0 lead at the break.
The Red Devils begun the second half where they left off before the interval as Bibby scored his second try of the evening just one minute after getting back underway. Evalds slid through the Catalans defence from deep before Bibby and Hastings linked up well to allow the centre to score. Sio converted.
Just minutes later, Salford extended their lead even further thanks to a second Griffin try. Bibby’s offload was kicked down field by Evalds and collected by an onrushing Hastings who displayed fantastic vision to find the back-rower who finished under the posts. Sio converted.
Salford’s dominance continued and Hastings went from provider to scorer as he and Bibby again caused issues for the Dragons defence. Hastings weaved around the Catalans defence before finding Bibby who offloaded the ball back to the Australian to score.
Evalds was a constant thorn in the side of the Dragons and he was rewarded with a try of his own a few minutes later. Josh Jones put Lussick through a gap and the hooker tipped onto a pacey Evalds who finishes some flowing Rugby League from the Red Devils. Sio converted to take Salford to the 40-point mark.
It was Sio who would have the final word as he strolled over the try-line and under the Catalans posts after a clever offload from Bibby. The winger converted to round off a truly memorable win for Salford.
 
Salford Red Devils: Evalds, Olpherts, Welham, Bibby, Sio; Lui, Hastings; Dudson, Lussick, Murray, Jones, Turgut, Flanagan.
Interchanges: Burke, Nakubuwai, Griffin, Lawton.
 
Catalans Dragons:Β Tomkins, Yaha, Whitley, Williame, Tierney; Langi, Smith; Casty, McIlorum, Moa, Edwards, Jullien, Baitieri.
Interchanges:Β Bird, Bousquet, Goudemand, Belmas.
 
Salford Tries: Lussick (8), Griffin (38’, 46’), Bibby (40’, 41’), Hastings (46’), Evalds (58’), Sio (78).
Salford Conversions: Sio (9’, 27’, 39’ 42’, 47’, 59’, 79’).
Catalans Tries: N/A.
Catalans Conversions: N/A.
 
Referee: Scott Mikalauskas.

Ian Watson | “We’re confident in the teams ability to learn”

HeadΒ Coach Ian Watson wasΒ pleasedΒ with the effort fromΒ hisΒ side and feelsΒ the Red Devils can learn a lot from their opponents St Helens.
He also touched on a number of other topics in his post-match press conference.

On the game…

Credit to St Helens on how good they were defensively – that was the key. I thought just they were really consistent in turning us over in a pocket and were really consistent with their line speed and intensity in defence and knowing when to drop off and be really disciplined and not give penalties away coming out of yardage. Their defence was outstanding, and it was something we spoke about at half-time and that we needed to be better at and learn a lesson from a champion team. I think we did do that in the second half, and we were miles better at it and that’s credit to the players. I thought there was a lot of effort and endeavour from our lads.

On learning from St Helens… 

That’s a key thing for us and I think it’s what we’re trying to learn as a group. We’ve got a group in now who understand how we want to play and what we want to be known as. Saints have taught us a lesson in how we want to set about defensively really and to have that patient approach but I suppose that’s why they’re consistently playing in semi-finals and play-offs and until we buy into that and are as good as them at that we won’t get to those semi-finals at this point but we’re confident in the players’ ability to learn and to go forward from here.

On the injuries…

Teams pick up injuries, it wasn’t why we lost the game. Losing George Griffin and Lee Mossop obviously disrupts things but big credit to Daniel Murray he was 18th man and he’s been told to jump in on short notice and stood up against Alex Walmsley and Luke Thompson. Lee Mossop looks like he’s torn his hamstring and is the worst of them all. George Griffin felt it pulling up and when he hit a shield, he felt a pain go through it, so we won’t know how bad that one is until he gets assessed next week.

On the defensive efforts…

Jackson’s trackback try-saving tackle was special as was Ken Sio and Niall Evalds’ effort on Tommy Makinson. We encourage those kinds of efforts from our players because it shows a real desire and work ethic within your team.

On the start to the season…

It’s been a good start and I’d say this performance was good, it’s given us something to build on. I’d say the disappointing performance was the Leeds one for us. I don’t think we represented ourselves well in the Leeds game, but I thought against St Helens we dug in and a lot of other teams may have cracked a lot earlier than what we did. We just need to learn to not get bored doing things and be a little more patient in our approach.

On squad depth…

I’m confident in the squad we have particularly with our middles. We’ve got Adam Lawton who is developing really well playing down at Rochdale Hornets at the moment and his movements have been looking a lot better in those games we’ve been watching. We’ve also got Daniel Murray and Mark Flanagan didn’t play this weekend either so there are guys to drop in there and I don’t think we’re in a desperate situation just yet.
 
Tickets for Salford Red Devils next two home fixtures against WiganΒ Warriors on 24th March and Hull FC on 7th April areΒ bothΒ available to purchase at the The Salford Stadium Ticket Office, over the phone on 0161 7861 570 or online HERE. YouΒ can SAVEΒ money by purchasing in advance!

Match Report | Hull Kingston Rovers 22-24 Salford Red Devils

Salford Red Devils came back from 22-8 down to earn a memorable victory over Hull Kingston Rovers which means they have now won three of their opening four games of the 2019 Betfred Super League season.
Second half tries from Derrell Olpherts, Ken Sio and a late score from Joey Lussick pulled the scores level with Sio’s conversion nine minutes from time proving the difference between the sides.
Hull KR went into the break with a comfortable lead through tries from Weller Hauraki, Craig Hall, George Lawler and Jimmy Keinhorst. The Red Devils led briefly in the first half as Rob Lui and Josh Jones scored in quick succession.
It was the Rovers who opened the scoring as former Red Devil Hauraki planted the ball down from Danny McGuire’s low kick.
Lui, on his birthday, would soon get Salford on the scoreboard as he dummied and slid through the Hull defence to score. This was followed up by Jones who – in typical fashion – bundled his way over a number of Rovers defenders to score his third try in as many games.
However, the lead didn’t last long as Hall latched onto a chip kick from Josh Drinkwater. Lawler was next to score for the Robins as he wriggled free of three Salford defenders to score from close-range. Keinhorst would round off the first half scoring as he picked up a loose ball and raced thirty metres. Three tries in the final fifteen minutes of the half gave the hosts a 14-point lead at the interval.
Salford would come out a different side after the break and went close on a number of occasions but getting over the KR line was proving difficult. But the Red Devils pressure eventually paid dividend as Lui threw a looping pass wide to Olpherts who finished well to get the ball rolling for Ian Watson’s men.
The ball was moving much more freely for Salford and a flowing move involving Jackson Hastings, Lui, Niall Evalds and Junior Sa’u eventually found winger Sio who pulled off a magnificent finish in the corner against his former club. Sio’s conversion came back off the bar meaning the Red Devils still trailed by four points.
With less than ten minutes remaining, Lussick would go for the line from close-range – in identical fashion to his debut try last season – and force his way under the Rovers defence to level the scores. Sio converted to complete an incredible Salford comeback.
Hull Kingston Rovers: Dagger, Shaw, Keinhorst, Linnett, Hall; McGuire, Drinkwater; Mulhern, Lee, Masoe, Tomkins, Hauraki, Lawler.
Interchanges: Garbutt, Lannon, Atkin, Addy.
Salford Red Devils: Evalds, Olpherts, Welham, Sa’u, Sio; Lui, Hastings; Mossop, Lussick, Dudson, Jones, Turgut, Griffin.
Interchanges: McCarthy, Murray, Burke, Tomkins.
 
KR Tries: Hauraki (6’), Hall (28’), Lawler (33’), Keinhorst (37’).
KR Goals: Shaw (7’, 34’, 38’)
Salford Tries: Lui (10’), Jones (24’), Olpherts (56’), Sio (64’), Lussick (70’).
Salford Goals: Sio (57’, 71’).Β 
 
Attendance: 7065.Β 
Referee: Liam Moore.

Talking Points | Salford Red Devils 24-0 London Broncos

Salford Red Devils earned a second consecutive win to start the 2019 Betfred Super League season with a 20-0 triumph over London Broncos and we’ve taken a look at the talking points from the game.Β 
Defiant defence
Salford kept London to nil on Sunday afternoon and this is the first time the Red Devils have managed to keep a team scoreless in the Betfred Super League since March 2007 with a 10-0 victory over Catalans Dragons at The Willows. The last time they nilled a side came in a 2008 victory over Batley Bulldogs however this was in the Championship.
There were times when the Red Devils were under pressure from London, but some resilient goal-line defence kept the Broncos at bay most notably when Salford defended back-to-back sets on their own try-line in which London went close on a number of occasions.

Full-back Niall Evalds got the plaudits from Head Coach Ian Watson in the post-match press conference as the β€˜leader’ of the defence. The Red Devils have only conceded two tries in their opening two games of the 2019 Betfred Super League season and currently have the best defence in the league.
Competitive home debutsΒ 
Gil Dudson made his 200th career appearance on his home debut for Salford Red Devils and he put in a big shift in his first competitive game at the The Salford Stadium. Dudson arrived in pre-season from relegated Widnes Vikings and has been impressive thus far.


Ken Sio also made his competitive home debut and much like his debut at Huddersfield Giants last week the Australian winger crossed for a try. Sio finished well in the corner after a neat offload from Josh Jones in the second half.Β 
Crowd on the up
Yesterday’s attendance was confirmed as 3236 which sees a rise on the average attendance from the 2018 Betfred Super League season.


As always, the Salford Red Devils supporters were vocal throughout the game and helped the lads to victory.
Salford welcome Leeds Rhinos to the The Salford Stadium next up on Sunday 17th February, 3pm kick-off, and tickets are now available to purchase for this game from the Ticket Office, over the phone on 0161 786 1570 and online here.
 
Salford Red Devils 2019 Season Tickets are stillΒ available to purchase from the Club Ticket Office, over theΒ phone on 0161 786 1570 or online HERE.Β You can spread the cost via Direct Debit payments, for more details, click HERE. Season Tickets will now be at a reduced price on a pro-rata basis.

Ian Watson | “Teams who defend well win games and competitions”

Salford Red Devils moved to the top of the Betfred Super League table following a 24-0 victory over London Broncos and Head Coach Ian Watson was pleased with various aspects of the win.Β 

On the result following a tough week…

Happy to get the week over with really. We’ve had a tough week. A lot of the lads have been down with the flu, so much so that I had to cancel training on Thursday afternoon. Rob Lui was a doubt for the game as he was struggling with it on Saturday. What the lads have done is outstanding earning the victory over London.

On the game…

We knew not to underestimate London. Both times we’ve played them while I’ve been here, and we’ve played them in The Qualifiers we’ve been beat. We know they’re a dogged team and we knew that it didn’t matter if we got a lead on them whether that be 6-0 or 18-0 like Wakefield found out last week. You have to defend well and be on it to beat London, every week you’ve got to be right to play a team like London, so we knew exactly what they’d bring and the fact that we’ve done the job proves that we’re a better team than we were last year.

On the defence… 

We spoke a lot about the defence in the build-up, history shows you that teams who defend well win games and competitions. It is something we’ve worked really hard on. I thought it was led really well by Niall Evalds from the back who is the boss of our defensive line and I thought his goal-line efforts were outstanding. To defend as well as we did do as a team and keep London Broncos to a nil was a massive effect and it bodes well for the team.

On proving people wrong…

If you listen to the pundits on Sky Sports the other day, we shouldn’t be in the league the way they were talking but that’s for people to have their opinions. People said us and London would be down there and getting relegated. We’re only two games in and we’re not getting carried away, but we’ll see who is right at the end of the season.

On next week’s game against Leeds…

They’ll be coming here ready to play and they’ll be fired up. They’ve got a new coach and despite losing their opening two games they’ll come to play and they’re still a strong team. They’ve had a tough opening with the games that they’ve had but we’re confident as a group, we don’t need to shout about it we just need to go about our business and do the job.

On the new signings…

That was a big thing for us – would our new signings make the team better? They definitely have done on and off the field. Ken Sio is great around the place and is brilliant with the younger guys, he’s fitted in well. Greg Burke is like a new signing this year as well alongside Gil Dudson and they’ve all added to us and given us a better edge to us as a team.

On any injury concerns… 

No, I think we’ve come through okay. Mark Flanagan didn’t come back on due to back spasms but I think that’s just old age with Flash!
 
Salford Red Devils 2019 Season Tickets are stillΒ available to purchase from the Club Ticket Office, over theΒ phone on 0161 786 1570 or online HERE.Β You can spread the cost via Direct Debit payments, for more details, click HERE. Season Tickets will now be at a reduced price on a pro-rata basis.

Match Report | Salford Red Devils 24-0 London Broncos

Salford Red Devils earned a hard-fought 24-0 victory over Super League new boys London Broncos which puts Ian Watson’s side atop the table after the second round of fixtures.
The hosts went into the break with a slender 6-0 lead thanks to Ken Sio’s try on his competitive home debut. Salford pulled away in the second half with tries from Jackson Hastings, Niall Evalds and Josh Jones.
A real arm-wrestle ensued for the opening twenty minutes but the Red Devils did have the better of possession and position and it eventually paid dividend when Sio crossed following a neat offload from Jones.
Salford continued to control the first half however failed to add any more points.
But it would take just two minutes of the second half for Salford to extend their lead. Evalds’ low kick came back off the upright and Hastings was the quickest to react getting his tally for the 2019 season underway.
London did apply some pressure to the Salford line, but the Red Devils resilience shone through and Hastings would add a penalty goal in the 55th minute to maintain control.
With ten minutes remaining, Evalds found an opening in the Broncos defence and jinked his way through for his fourth of the season. Hastings would add the extras to all but confirm victory. Salford were reduced to twelve men with five minutes left as Lee Mossop was sent to the sin-bin for an altercation with Greg Richards.
The Red Devils weren’t done however as Jones – who provided the assist for the opener – would get himself on the scoresheet in the final minute. The robust second-rower bounced off two London defenders before planting the ball down to round off a brilliant afternoon at the The Salford Stadium.
Salford Red Devils: Evalds, Olpherts, Welham, Sa’u, Sio; Lui, Hastings; Mossop, Lussick, Dudson, Jones, Turgut, Flanagan.
Interchanges: Burke, Nakubuwai, Griffin, Tomkins.
London Broncos: Walker, Dixon, Morgan, Kear, Williams; Abdull, Cunningham; Mason, Fozard, Richards, Pitts, Gee, Yates.
Interchanges: Battye, Ioane, Lovell, Pelissier.
Salford Tries: Sio (20’), Hastings (42’), Evalds (70’), Jones (79’)
Salford Goals: Hastings (21’, 43’, 55’, 71’)Β 
London Tries: N/A.
London Goals: N/A.
 
Salford sin-bin:Β Mossop (75′)
 
Referee: James Child.
Attendance: 3236.

Squad | Ian Watson names unchanged 19-man for visit of London

Head Coach Ian Watson has named an unchanged 19-man squad for the visit of London Broncos at the The Salford Stadium on Sunday, 3pm kick-off.
Salford Red Devils got their 2019 season off to a winning start with a 14-34 victory over Huddersfield Giants last Friday.
Both Ken Sio and Gil Dudson debuted for the Red Devils and both men will be in line to make their competitive home debuts for Salford this weekend. In fact, if he is selected, Dudson will make his 200th career appearance.
Full-back Niall Evalds grabbed a hat-trick last week at the John Smith’s Stadium which saw him surpass 300 points for the Club and he will be looking to continue his scoring form on Sunday afternoon.
Logan Tomkins made his timely return to the Salford side at Huddersfield and is in line to feature again. Tyrone McCarthy and Jake Bibby will be looking to make their first appearances of the 2019 Betfred Super League season.
The full squad is as follows:

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