Salford Red Devils forward Ryan Lannon has been handed a three-match ban and a £300 fine after pleading guilty to a Grade D Striking in last Thursday’s defeat to St Helens.
Lannon collided with former Red Devil Theo Fages after the French half-back had kicked the ball leading James Child to send him from the field.
The incident came just moments after Alex Walmsley knocked out Jordan Walne – who didn’t return to the field – however Walmsley hasn’t been punished following the incident being put on report.
Lannon is now set to miss the opening three games of the 2018 season however forwards such as Lee Mossop, Lama Tasi and Mark Flanagan are expected to be fit for the beginning of next season.
Tag: Theo Fages
Salford Red Devils 4-30 St Helens
Salford fell to defeat in their final game of the 2017 season, despite a valiant effort with twelve men for 45 minutes, against a St Helens side who confirmed their place in the top four.
Ryan Lannon was sent from the field towards the end of the first half but the Red Devils dug deep and only trailed by eight points heading into the final twenty minutes. However, the extra man eventually paid dividend for St Helens who ran out 4-30 winners.
It was actually Salford who took the lead early on as a flowing move saw the ball shipped from left to right before full-back Niall Evalds hit the ball at pace and stepped his way over. However, Gareth O’Brien’s conversion attempt was unsuccessful.
While it was the Red Devils full-back who scored early on it was Saints’ full-back – and mid-season signing – Ben Barba created their first. Barba weaved his way around the Salford defence and Mark Percival finished in the corner but the centre couldn’t add the extras.
Manu Vatuvei went over in the corner with ten minutes of the half remaining but video referee Phil Bentham ruled it out as Vatuvei was adjudged to have knocked-on in the build-up. Unfortunately, for the Red Devils St Helens went down the other end and scored as Alex Walmsley barged his way over from close-range.
Moments late Walmsley looked to lead with the elbow which sent Jordan Walne off for a concussion check and forward couldn’t return to the field for the remainder of the game. However, James Child only put the incident on report. But, he did make the decision to send Lannon from the field a minute later for a late challenge on Theo Fages following the Frenchman’s kick.
After the interval, the Red Devils defended bravely keeping St Helens out for seven goal-line defensive sets and kept in touching distance until the final twenty minutes. Zeb Taia managed to break Salford’s resilience as he spun over the line. With ten minutes left Walmsley forced his way over for a second before Barba jinked his way over to seal St Helens’ place in the top four.
Salford: Evalds, Bibby, Welham, Sa’u, Vatuvei; Lui, O’Brien; Murray, Tomkins, Hauraki, Murdoch-Masila, Jones, McCarthy. Interchanges: Kopczak, Brining, Lannon, J. Walne.
Saints: Barba, Makinson, Morgan, Percival, Grace; Fages, Richardson; Douglas, Roby, Thompson, Taia, Knowles, Wilkin. Interchanges: Smith, Walmsley, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Peyroux.
Factfile – Salford Red Devils vs St Helens
Ahead of our final game of the 2017 season here are all the facts before we host St Helens tomorrow night.
Head-to-head
The Red Devils failed to win a game against St Helens between June 2010 and June 2015 – a run of 11 games however Salford have managed to overcome Saints twice in their last four meetings.
Both of the Red Devils victories since 2016 have come at the The Salford Stadium with Ian Watson’s men earning a convincing 44-10 victory last season before edging out Saints 22-14 in March, also.
In nine games between September 2011 and June 2015 Salford scored a combined total of just 76 points against St Helens but have since managed to rack up a combined total of 110 points in their last four meetings; scoring 20 or more in each.
Against their former club
There are three Red Devils who have enjoyed stints with St Helens – Mark Flanagan, Josh Jones and Gareth O’Brien.
Flanagan, who is still sidelined, featured for Saints between 2012 and 2015 and played in their 2014 Super League Grand Final triumph. Jones was also on the field for St Helens’ 14-6 victory over Wigan and played almost 100 games for this week’s opponents before switching codes.
O’Brien spent a short spell on loan in 2013 from Warrington and kicked 25 goals in seven appearances for the Merseyside team.
Saints have two former Red Devils and both come in the halves. French half-back Theo Fages made the move to the Totally Wicked Stadium in 2016 from Salford while Matty Smith moved to the The Salford Stadium from Saints, following a loan spell, in 2011 and now finds himself back with St Helens after a four-year stint with Wigan Warriors.
Try-scorers
If there’s one Red Devil who enjoys playing against St Helens its full-back Niall Evalds who has notched an impressive seven tries in his last four appearances against them.
Evalds crossed for two in the 25-24 defeat at the Totally Wicked Stadium as well as scoring a hat-trick in the visit to St Helens last season. The last time Saints visited the AJ Bell Evalds was also on the scoresheet grabbing a brace.
However, Saints have their own full-back come half-back who enjoys coming up against the Red Devils in Jonny Lomax. Lomax, who has scored three in his last two outings, has also scored in each of his last three appearances against Salford.
Tickets are on sale for our final home game of the season against St Helens and can be purchased over the phone, at the Club Ticket Office or online here. Fans can also watch our end of season awards for an extra £5 in the 1873 suite post-game. Season Tickets are valid for all Super 8s home games.
