U19S’ SEMI-FINAL BATTLE-TO-THE-END PROVES IN VAIN

Warrington 34  Salford 32                             Match Report

The Salford Red Devils U19s College Academy were, sadly, eliminated yesterday from the knockout cup, in the cruellest possible round – the semi-final –  when they went down to Warrington Wolves, who had the significant advantage of having secured the home advantage of Victoria Park.

On a fine, sunny afternoon, even with a strong breeze blowing along, and up the pitch, it was the noticeable slope, end to end, which had the greatest effect on proceedings on field, with the Wolves having its advantage in the first forty minutes.

In what proved to be a most enthralling and evenly balanced encounter, the lead changed hand on no less than four occasions.  The entertainment factor was evident throughout, as the teams went almost turn-and-turn-about to score and thereby provided a total of thirteen tries, with the extra one going Warrington’s way.

It was they who opened the scoring, in the ninth minute, immediately after Salford second rower, Jimmy Shields, had been ruled to have grounded the ball short of the line, at the other end.  There was no such doubt, though when prop, Euan Haynes, charged through to score to the left of the posts, and Charlie Glover converted to put the visitors ahead, 4-6.

It was however the sin-binning of loose forward, Glover, in the first half, followed by the complete dismissal of substitute Luke Isles, some twelve minutes from full time, both for dissent, which impacted significantly on the team’s aspirations to progress, with their hosts crossing twice in that first ten minute spell, to run up a 14-6 lead, on 30 minutes.

Fortunately, Glover’s return came in time for him to be able to convert George Charnock’s try, which pulled the Red Devils back into contention, and indeed, he added another two points, onto Shields’s this time more successful grounding, on 36 minutes, after Warrington had restored their eight-point advantage, a few minutes earlier.

So with the half-time score of 20 -18 to the Wolves, there was considerable optimism, within the Salford ranks that they could triumph, and indeed Haynes was most unfortunate to have the ball stripped from him over the line, in one of the first moves of the half.  It was their opponents, however, who briefly increased their advantage to 24, following a Salford dropped ball on 46 minutes.

The Red Devils’ best spell by far came in a fifteen-minute spell, when three tries, from Josh Bentley, Ellis Kelly, and Charnock’s second, put them into a respectable, if not comfortable, 24-32 lead, with less than twenty minutes left. 

Even though Warrington pulled back four points, it was not until the visitors’ numbers were depleted for the second time, that they were able to regain the lead with one final try in the corner, which, with the help of the wind, was converted from the touchline.

Regretfully, the much dreamed upon final against Castleford, therefore, must remain just that – a dream.  A little more luck, at times, would not have come amiss, whilst having to cope a player short for a quarter of the game turns a hill into a small mountain.  Remarkable and creditable, therefore, was the fact that they came so close to achieving that dream.

RED DEVILS IN DEPTH: WARRINGTON V SALFORD

For the second week in succession, Salford Red Devils had a half time lead expunged during the second period, to end up with a loss that had appeared most unlikely, as the teams trooped off for the half-time interval, in this Round 3 fixture at the home of the Warrington Wolves.

That the home side had opened 2023 with two most impressive victories, at home to Leeds and away at Huddersfield, must have hung over the visiting Salford fans, prior to kick-off, but such anxieties were quickly dissipated despite a Warrington try in the eighth minute, for there was a definite step up by the Reds, from the previous week’s performance against Hull KR.

The tactics based around their slick, wonderfully entertaining qualities might well have not changed but the execution of them was markedly better than the previous week, with every pass being so much more telling, and the gaps opening up more easily and effectively, as a result.

Their first, and equalising try, on eleven minutes, was a consequence of some precisionally timed, and accurately executed, passes, as the ball was moved along the line to Joe Burgess who unsurprisingly had had his opposite number sucked in-field, and so was completely in the clear to race down the wing before sending an equally effective and accurate pass inside to the supporting Ellis Longstaff, who must have revelled in crossing the line against his parent club, on their own pitch.

In addition, the Red Devils had learned from their previous experience the importance of muscling up in the physical aspects of the game.  Twice, in the opening twenty-five minutes, Tyler Dupree made clean breaks through the Wolves’ defence, brushing off attempted tackles and making great yardage up the field to build up good field position.  Not only he, but the remaining members of the pack were eager to make their presence felt, with Ollie Partington at the centre of so much of both attacking play and defensive efforts.

Last week, the problem was that they had failed to build a sufficiently comfortable lead, after their opening four pointer.  Not so, this time out, with first yet another interception by Ken Sio which saw him make progress before setting up Ryan Brierley, who showed terrific speed to get over for another. 

With Marc Sneyd’s being on target with both conversion attempts, his third effort was to tack on the extras to his own try, when he hoodwinked the Wires’ defence and coasted through.  He rounded off the first stanza with an additional two points from a penalty goal, which meant that by half time, there was a clear fourteen points difference between the sides, as opposed to the four, against Hull KR.

It is extremely doubtful that there was anyone who did not expect a response in some form or other from this Warrington side, so impressive in previous weeks, and our players will have certainly prepared themselves for such, but, when it came, it was in a form that was extremely difficult to do anything about, for quite simply they were most cleverly deprived of the ball, being in possession for less than ten minutes of the forty.  Without it, all anyone can do is tackle, tackle, and keep on tackling in the hope that it will come around to them, eventually.

All that tackling takes it toll, however, on energy levels, knocks and the like sustained in the collisions, and with a sense of frustration building up, which can then affect effectiveness on the few occasions possession does come their way.  One wayward pass to Joe Burgess, on the first tackle of a set, which went behind him and straight into touch, was merely symptomatic of this.

The Wolves took possession straight from Salford’s half-time kick-off, and proceeded to start as many as seven sets and retain possession for almost nine minutes.  The Reds’ one chance of stemming this tide came at the end of the first set, the high kick from which was left completely unclaimed by anyone on the field, and the ball, having been allowed to bounce, ricocheted up and backwards into the arms of Warrington, who were quickly afterwards awarded a penalty, which triggered a set restart.

From that point on, they found ploy after ploy to reclaim the ball for yet another set. The problem then became compounded by defenders conceding penalties, set restarts, and even a sin-binning, which on this occasion proved to be so crucial, in their increasingly tiring endeavours to styme the waves of attack thrown at them.  So good, though, was the Salford defence in the early stages of the half that there were times when the Wolves actually ended up further back than they had started the set.

Significant, however, was the Reds’ seeming difficulty to deal with the high, short-distance, hanging kicks, which their hosts seemed to be able to reclaim, with some regularity.  Williams’s kick into the corner for Thewlis’s try was probably their highlight of these, and if the final score-line seems a little unfair to the luckless Red Devils, it was, in part, because it was adversely affected by two, eight-point tries, the first of these being this one, with Dupree being adjudged to have fouled the scorer after the grounding.

So, after four months of the close season, during which coaches of other sides have had chance to weigh up how to deal with the flamboyant attacking style of the Salford Red Devils, we have twice now seen the use of tactical kicking as a partial means of starving them of sufficient possession to be the threat they can be.  It is now up to Salford to work on dealing with this in readiness for next week’s trip to Hull. FC

MATCH REPORT – WARRINGTON WOLVES 36-20 SALFORD RED DEVILS (BETFRED SUPER LEAGUE ROUND 3)

Warrington Wolves produced a second-half comeback to beat Salford Red Devils 36-20 in Round 3 of the Betfred Super League.

Paul Rowley’s outfit started the game on the front foot and Tyler Dupree was the first to break Warrington’s defensive line with a positive, charging run.

The Red Devils were playing with a relentless intensity; potentially typified by Ryan Brierley tipping a neat grubber kick from George Williams back to Joe Burgess in his own in-goal area to charge out and start another attack.

Wire, however, opened the scoring with their next set of six. Williams sent a grubber into the left corner for Ben Currie to chase, with the number 11 stretching just ahead of Brierley to touch down.

Salford bounced straight back and got on the board through Ellis Longstaff. Oliver Partington did superbly to bounce his defender and tee up Andy Ackers; the hooker got it started through multiple hands and Burgess’ break on the left allowed the debutant some space to collect and slide over.

Rowley’s men found their groove and started to play the ball quicker and quicker. Ken Sio spotted a chance to intercept 20 metres out from our own try line and clung on to spring a rapid Salford attack.

Brierley was in support with open field, but he still had so much to do to hand his side the lead. Racing downfield, our number one jinked outside Matt Dufty to slide over in the right corner.

And it wasn’t long till Salford were over again. Marc Sneyd skipped across the Warrington line on the last and spotted a gap to squeeze through and extend the lead – converting his own try.

There was even time for Sneyd to add a penalty-goal before the break, after the hosts were penalised for a high tackle.

HALF-TIME: Warrington Wolves 6-20 Salford Red Devils

Warrington took control of the game at the start of the second 40, with Ashton getting them back into the game via an acrobatic finish in the left corner – despite the best efforts of Brodie Croft.

Salford were defending repeat set after repeat set on their own try line and showed incredible grit to come away unscathed at times, but the game changed when Brierley was sent to the sin bin for holding down.

Not even a minute later, Thomas Mikaele powered under the sticks and Stefan Ratchford converted to bring Wire within two.

Daryl Powell’s side were dominating the play and Williams played the ball quickly to skip a few challenges to find space on the right. His chipped kick was easily gathered by Josh Thewlis to go over unopposed.

It was the same source who extended Warrington’s advantage moments later. Watkins lost his footing and Williams was quick to spot the opportunity and slide over to the left of the sticks.

The game had got away from the Red Devils and Matt Dufty made sure of the two points by latching onto Peter Mata’utia’s offload.

Just like Mikaele’s effort earlier in the half, the referee decided to award Ratchford the opportunity to add two more in front of the sticks for a penalty when Dufty grounded the original try.

FULL-TIME: Warrington Wolves 36-20 Salford Red Devils

GALLERY – WIRE IN ROUND 3!

After falling to defeat in our first home game of the season last week, Paul Rowley’s Salford Red Devils will be looking to bounce back against a tough Warrington Wolves side.

Currently sat top of the table – winning two from two – Daryl Powell’s men will be raring to go, but it was the Red Devils who staged a stunning comeback at the same ground last season.

Here’s some of our favourite shots from the pre-Wire captain’s run:

Photo credit – Steve McCormick

WARRINGTON WOLVES VS SALFORD RED DEVILS – TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets are now on sale for Salford Red Devils’ trip to Warrington Wolves in Round 3 of the Betfred Super League.

This particular fixture is on Thursday 2nd March, with an 8pm kick-off. Live on Sky Sports, it’s set to be a mouthwatering 80 minutes, with the Red Devils’ previous visit to the Halliwell Jones Stadium still fresh in supporters minds.

Despite trailing with 20 minutes to play, a Jack Ormondroyd double spearheaded a stunning comeback that kick-started our late push for the playoffs.

Tickets for this game are now available from the Salford Stadium directly from the ticket office or over the phone on 0161 786 1570, option one. Our ticket office opening times can be found below.

If you cant get down to the stadium you can purchase online HERE.

Prices for this particular fixtures are as follows:

Standing

         Seating             Available
Adult £24 £29 Online/in person/by phone
Senior (65+) £18 £20 Online/in person/by phone
17-23 £18 £20 Online/in person/by phone
12-16 £12 £14 Online/in person/by phone
Under 12 £10 £12 Online/in person/by phone
Junior ST £5 £7 In person/by phone
Under 5 Free of charge Free of charge In person/by phone
Carer Free of charge Free of charge In person/by phone

Wheelchair Users will need to book directly with Warrington on 01925248888. For travel to the HWJ stadium, please click HERE.

Tickets for this particular fixture will go off sale on Wednesday 1st March.

Tickets are on a first come first serve basis and we hope to sell out of our allocation.

We would like to take this opportunity to remind you that Salford Red Devils receive commission on all tickets pre-purchased from Salford Stadium and nothing from on the day sales, so we urge you to buy your tickets from us direct.

SALFORD RED DEVILS SIGN ELLIS LONGSTAFF ON ONE-YEAR LOAN

Salford Red Devils are delighted to welcome Ellis Longstaff to the Club from Warrington Wolves on a one-year loan.

The 20-year-old made his Betfred Super League debut against Hull FC in 2020 and has since progressed at a rapid rate. Operating in the back-row, his talent was quickly recognised by the England Knights, where he made his debut at just 19 years of age.

He also enjoyed a short loan spell at FC last season, where he scored an impressive seven tries in just 10 Super League appearances.

Longstaff will add more energy and quality to an already high-quality second row. Kallum Watkins has been a standout performer, but the additions of Ben Hellewell and Andrew Dixon have further reinforced that position ahead of 2023.

Upon completion of the loan deal, Longstaff said: “I’m over the moon to sign at Salford for the year on loan.

“I’m really looking forward to getting in and meeting all the boys and staff and can’t wait to rip in. I also can’t wait to get out there in front of the fans and show what I can bring to the side!”

Head Coach, Paul Rowley added: “Ellis is a fantastic addition to our team. He’s a player with lots of energy and ambition.

“His new team mates and the staff are looking forward to him joining our group, and as a current England Knight, he is clearly a talented and hard working player who is driven to succeed – which makes him a perfect fit for our club.”

Director of Rugby and Operations, Ian Blease said: “It’s really exciting that we’ve secured Ellis on loan for the next 12 months.

As a current England Knight, he’s already showcased an abundance of talent at such a young age and he’ll have the ability to develop even further with the coaching team and the current playing squad. I look forward to seeing what he can produce for the Red Devils next season!”

Ellis is available for sponsorship in 2023 and you can contact hannah.edge@salfordreddevils.net for more information.

POWERFUL WOLVES PROVE TOO STRONG FOR YOUNG REDS

Salford Red Devils 12  Warrington Wolves 24       Match Report

With up to nine first year players within their ranks, this season’s new look College Academy U19s side were made to struggle against a much more experienced Warrington side, but nevertheless put up a determined resistance, once they had adapted to the intensity of the game.

The not insignificant slope on the Cadishead pitch also played its part in how the encounter unfolded, with the visitors enjoying the advantage it provided for the opening forty minutes, which served to make the young Red Devils’ task all the more challenging, with the Wolves running in back-to-back tries on the seventh and tenth minutes to open up an 0-8 lead.

That, however, only served to galvanise the Salford players and the quality  of their defence improved most markedly, from that point onwards, and their opponents suddenly found themselves being thwarted at every turn, so much so that it started to look as though the lead that they would take into the second half might be insufficient to provide the victory, especially with the incline favouring the Red Devils for the second period.

Sadly, those hopes proved to be overly optimistic as Warrington ran in two further tries on either side of the interval, the second of which they converted to give themselves a rather more comfortable eighteen point lead.

The home side were, however, sufficiently cohesive that they were able to muster a response of their own, with two converted tries of their own, sandwiching the Wolves final score, both of which proved to be the most entertaining of the game.

The first came on 44 mins when Mikey Gilligan put prop Euan Haynes through on a barn-storming run from inside his own half, with Gilligan in support, and he continued the move before handing on to Isaac Wheatley who scored by the posts and promptly converted his own try, to bring the score back to 6-18.

Haynes, again, it was, who repeated the fete with another magnificent break from within his own half, and looked at one stage as though he might be able to score himself, but then was grateful to be able to set up the supporting Myles Paul to complete the score towards the left-hand corner.  With a rather more difficult conversion, Wheatley, most impressively, succeeded once again in extending the score by a further two points.

For a first match of the season, the players can look back on it with a certain level of satisfaction, in the knowledge that they have stood up to one of the stronger sides in their group, and in having done so have increased their level of intensity and execution to the standard that they will require on a week-by-week basis throughout the coming season.

RED DEVILS IN DEPTH:  SALFORD V WARRINGTON

After two back-to-back games in one weekend, Red Devils’ Head Coach, Paul Rowley, rewarded the team, which had, most remarkably, won both, and doing so straight after an energy-sapping trip to Catalans, by giving them what one would suspect they desired most of all, a well-earned rest.  The consequence of this was that the team given the task of facing the Wolves, at the weekend, was a rather makeshift group.

With six players from the Reserves making their debuts, and other more experienced players selected in most unfamiliar positions, expectations, among fans, of a victory were not high, and those expectations proved correct.  What, however, was not correct was the fear that the side might get swept aside by an opposition keen to make the most of what they regarded as a winnable match.

Far from that, although struggling in the early stages to adapt to new positions, the speed of the game, and one another, they grew into it extremely well, and the longer it went on the more they forced the visitors into handling errors, which aided their own cause and increased their confidence considerably.

Indeed, it was the home side which produced the first of a number of scoring opportunities, in the second minute when right winger, Myles-Dalton Harrop, was unable to take advantage of an extremely awkwardly bouncing ball from an end-of-set kick to his corner.

With nothing to show for this Warrington took the opportunity to open the scoring, two minutes later, when they forced an overlap on their left flank to score in the corner.  They then succeeded in doubling their score to eight points, on twelve minutes, with another try wide out to the touchline.

Harvey Livett’s superb kick-off found open ground and bounced into touch, thereby securing the Red Devils unexpected possession in ideal territory, and from the ensuing attack James Greenwood forced his way over and twisted round to ground the ball to the referee’s satisfaction.  Stand-in goal kicker, Livett, proved to be a more than adequate replacement, landing all three of his attempts, some from the most difficult positions.

The next fifteen minutes saw the Wolves mount a succession of attacks which had their hosts at full stretch and pinned down in their own twenty metre area, staving off each attempt to increase the winning margin.  In fact, it was the 32nd minute before the Wolves eventually managed to cross the line between the posts and take the score to 6-14.

Three minutes later, an impromptu football match, started by Warrington hacking on a loose ball and then less successfully continuing to try to control it with further kicks, was won by Rhys Williams who secured possession and returned play back to the Wolves end of the field.  A goal-line drop-out was forced, and Salford raced through for what looked like a simple try.  Too clean and simple for referee, Ben Thaler, however, who had spotted an obstruction in the build-up.

It was, nevertheless, the Reds who finished the stronger, adding to their points tally with a Livett penalty-goal in the 39th minute, to bring the half-time score to a most respectable, 8-14.

The second half started with yet another spell, this time of eight minutes, of the Salford players thwarting periods of Warrington attack, until the visitors got onto the end of a low kick into the in-goal area for a converted try.

The highlight for Salford of this second forty came on 59 mins, when Myles-Dalton Harrop was put in the clear, on his wing, and he romped over to gain some compensation for his earlier unrewarded attempt, and, despite the difficult angle, Livett had no problem in slotting over the extras.

Although they failed to trouble the scoreboard operator thereafter, they certainly did cause problems for the Wolves’ attack, limiting them to only two further converted tries, during the period in which more experienced sides usually rachet up a quite overwhelming score, in such seemingly uneven contests.

Even the final score went contrary to the context surrounding it.  Having denied the visitors a score yet again, on the 79th minute, this time by preventing the prospective scorer from grounding the ball over the line, the Reds suffered the cruel twist of fate of having a well-intended pass to the right flank intercepted, leading to a winning margin, which failed to reflect the true balance of the game.

It was, nevertheless, a great experience for all of the players making their debuts, and credit must also go to the more experienced members of the side, who similarly rose to the occasion to provide direction and support for the newcomers, thus making it a truly, all-round team effort.

MATCH REPORT | SALFORD 14-32 WARRINGTON WOLVES | SATURDAY 3RD SEPTEMBER 2022

See images from the game here

A youthful-looking Salford Red Devils side were beaten 14-32 by Warrington Wolves in Round 27 of the Betfred Super League.

Paul Rowley handed Betfred Super League debuts to six members of the clubs’ reserves side, as some regular starters were able to rest and recuperate ahead of their play-off eliminator next Saturday.

The Red Devils started on the front foot and almost got off to the perfect start. Morgan Escare – playing in the halves – stabbed a grubber kick into the right corner, but the onrushing Myles-Dalton Harrop just couldn’t catch up to the bobbling ball.

Warrington were aiming to finish the season on a high and fielded some of their most experienced players, but it was the young Josh Thewlis who opened the scoring in the 4th minute. The visitors created an overload on the left and allowed the winger to stroll over the try-line unopposed.

The Wire were finding some joy down the centre and doubled their lead through Oliver Holmes. Their number 12 twisted and turned past a number of Salford bodies and stretched over to the right of the sticks.

On his return to the side, James Greenwood fired Salford back into the game just minutes later. The prop found space to jink past two Wire defenders and ground the ball on the turn – with Livett converting, on kicking duty for the afternoon.

But Daryl Powell’s side were building momentum and squeezed further ahead in the 33rd minute through Luke Thomas, who again, broke through the centre and grounded to the right of the sticks.

There was still time for Livett to cut the gap with a penalty goal 30 metres out, but Salford went into the interval behind.

Half-time: Salford 8-14 Warrington

Warrington started the second forty the quickest and Leon Hayes’ neat grubber kick allowed Gregory Minikin to collect and ground in the right corner.

Then, on the hour mark, a moment Betfred Super League debutant, Myles-Dalton Harrop will never forget. The winger was patient with his intent and allowed the ball to bobble his way before making a late dart for the line – much to the delight of his teammates and the Salford faithful.

It gave the Reds a much-needed boost, but it was soon taken away when George Williams broke the lines, dummied his man and raced to an unguarded try-line.

Thewlis added to his tally on the full-time hooter, intercepting a loose pass and strolling over the line, but the young Salford side certainly held their own.

It was still a mystery before the game, but we now know we’ll be taking on Ian Watson’s Huddersfield Giants at the John Smith’s Stadium next Saturday, with kick-off scheduled for 1 pm.

Full Time: Salford 14-32 Warrington

Salford: Rourke, Williams, Akauola, Coope-Franklin, Harrop, Livett, Escare, Luckley, Bourouh, Burke, Greenwood, Lannon, Vuniyayawa, Stevens, Spencer-Tonks, Davies, Dupree.

Warrington: Dufty, Minikin, Mata-utia, Wardle, Thewlis, Williams, Hayes, Harrison, Walker, Bullock, Holmes, Nicholson, Clark, Mikaele, Clark, Whitehead, Thomas.

Salford tries: Greenwood (15′), Harrop (60′)

Salford goals: Livett (2/2)

Salford penalty goals: Livett (1/1)

Warrington tries: Thewlis (4′, 80′), Holmes (12′), Thomas (33′), Minikin (51′), Williams (64′)

Warrington goals: Hayes (3/5), Clark (1/1)

Image credit: Steve McCormick

Referee: Robert Hicks

Half-time draw results:

1st prize – 2981

2nd prize – 2429

Lucky number winner – 4298

RED DEVILS IN DEPTH: WARRINGTON V SALFORD (2)

An absolutely magnificent fightback, in the final quarter of the game was the hallmark of an exceptionally entertaining, afternoon’s rugby league, when the Red Devils visited the Halliwell-Jones Stadium, to take on the Warrington Wolves.

There will be many, who will have left the game feeling quite disconsolate and disappointed, but they will not be Salford fans, and nor can anyone have anything to complain about, in respect of the entertainment on view.

No, the Salford fans left rejoicing at their side’s incredible reversal of a 24-8 score line, which the Wolves had built up ten minutes into the second half.  That this was, in itself, a reversal of the 0-8 lead into which the Red Devils had scorched during the opening fifteen minutes, simply underlines just how unpredictable, and riveting, this encounter turned out to be.

From the very outset, it was the visitors who turned on the style.  A Marc Sneyd kick, at the end of a seven-tackle set, was collected by left winger Rhys Williams, amid a most static Wolves’ defence, which he exploited to the full by racing into space and crossing for the opening try, on six minutes.

Seven minutes later, a well-directed pass from Ryan Brierley, from dummy-half, saw Deon Cross dart through the defensive line for Salford’s second score.  Although Sneyd was unable to convert either of them, these two tries were to constitute the winning eight-point margin, at the final whistle.

Efforts to improve upon that, however, proved surprisingly fruitless, mainly because the home defence regrouped and determined to snuff out the Salford attack at its source, namely, half back, Brodie Croft, who had been running rampant for the duration, to this point.  Consequently, three or four attacks went unrewarded, and the result was a building frustration within the team, which led, in turn, to a complete shift in momentum.

It was not the sinbinning of Kallum Watkins on thirty-seven minutes, which was responsible for the Warrington comeback; that merely served to illustrate the effect of being a man short, on such a firm, dry pitch, in such a fast, free-flowing game.

It was, in fact, the conceding of a succession of no less than seven penalties, within only a couple of minutes, which invited Warrington to attack, that was the real cause of the problem, most of which were for off-side.  Such an amount of possession, in such good position, is never going to go without presenting subsequent problems, and indeed, on twenty-two minutes, Salford fans were most relieved that a possible Wolves’ try, by the side of the posts, was disallowed.

Indeed, they will have been equally thankful, on the stroke of half-time, when Sitoleki Akauola superbly denied Thewlis another try, by pushing him into touch.  There had been no denying Warrington, on 27 mins, however, when a scoot from Daryl Clark, caught out the Salford line of defence, and he scored close to the posts for the conversion to bring them within two points, 6-8, at half time.

The fact that, at the start of the second-half, Watkins still had by far the majority of his time in the sinbin to sit out, was exploited by the home side to the full, and the Red Devils had a rather challenging spell, until his return, on 48 minutes, by which time Warrington had taken the lead with two converted tries, on 41 and 45 mins, and to which they promptly added a third, on 51.

When, at that point, former Salford favourite, Stefan Ratchford, slotted over his final conversion, the game was hanging in the balance.  Any further score would, undoubtedly, have been extremely difficult for the visitors to overturn, but the sixteen-point lead was by no means a winning margin.

The incredible stamina and resolve which the Salford players showed over the remainder of the game was nothing but outstanding. So many teams in this situation would have gone into their shell, longing for the final whistle.

With a full complement restored, they simply rolled up their sleeves and set to, to get the result.  The swing in momentum started on 55 mins, with some great handling, particularly from Watkins, whose wonderful pass out of a tackle, seemingly to nobody, ended up in the hands of Chris Atkin for him to score and so start the fightback.

Prop forwards are not renowned for their try-scoring feats, and back-to-back tries from props are a considerable rarity.  Jack Ormandroyd, whose stature has recently been growing by the week, and whom we singled out, last week, for his off-the ball work, put the cap on an outstanding performance, yesterday, to cross, most remarkably, on both 70 and 73 mins, for Sneyd-converted tries, the second following a barnstorming run by fellow prop, Tyler Dupree, to put Salford back in front by two points.

It was only fitting that the dominance of the Salford victory should be underlined by a further six pointer, started by the impressive Atkin and finished by fullback, Ryan Brierley, which gave them the cushioning to be able to soak up Warrington’s final attacking flurries, in the last three minutes with relative ease.

Winning at a top club, like Warrington, is most commendable.  To end up having to win the game twice, as they did, is a truly magnificent achievement, and the players deserve all the plaudits that the fans, and their coaches, bestowed on them.  With Magic Weekend supported by Sky Zero, now only seven days away, what better place to show the whole nation, and rugby league in particular, just what this attacking force of Salford Red Devils has become.

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