Salford Red Devils were triumphant in their 1st super 8 qualifying game against Huddesfield Giants as a Mason Caton Brown hatrick gave them the 2 points, Paul Whiteside takes you through the action.
Salford got their middle eight campaign under way against Huddersfield Giants at the AJ Bell stadium. New signings Feleti Mateo and Luke Burgess were both in the 17. Salford started with a good intense tempo! Coming out really fired up with real snap in tackles.
An early attack forced the Giants to drop out after Robert Lui put a clever grubber kick through. from the resulting attack George Griffin hits a perfect line to charge over for the opening try. Gareth O Brien kicks the goal 6-0.
Huddersfield struggled to find any rhythm as a Jamie Ellis's looping pass found the touch judge.
Salford grew in confidence and look dangerous every time they had the ball. Lui again forces a drop out with another crafty kick. Good quick hands by Salford with Josh Griffin finding Mason Caton Brown who squeezed over for a try. Superb finish from the flying winger. O Brien kicks off the touch line to extend Salfords lead to 12-0.
With
15 minutes gone Huddesfield Giants are penalised for not being square! O Brien kicks the goal to extend the lead 14-0.
Luke Burgess enters the fray and his first contribution is a real solid tackle that forces the Giants to knock on.
Half an hour gone and Salford come up with there first real mistake as Caton Brown spills the ball in goal. The Giants cranked up the pressure and Eorl Crabtree is held up over the line!
Two drop outs are forced but Salford are outstanding in defence keeping their line intact. Mason Caton Brown is unlucky as his try is disallowed for a forward pass.
Two minutes before the break and after absorbing so much pressure Weller Hauraki powers over. O Brien kicks off the touch line to cap off a near perfect first half. 20-0.
Huddersfield started the second half looking more positive but again when it looks easier to score the ball ends up in touch.
Michael Dobson is again leading the team around the pitch superbly and his lovely short ball sends Ben Murdoch Masila over for a try that really does ease the Salford supporters nerves. O Brien misses the kick but with a 24-0 lead the Red Devils are in total control.
On the back of a penalty to get some good field position the Giants get a try from close range, Nathan Mason going over. Danny Brough kicks the goal 24-6. From the kick off another penalty gets the Giants down the pitch. Oliver Roberts scores a soft try to give Huddersfield hope of a come back. Brough adds the goal 24-12.
The Giants try to pull Salford into a scrap, Brough and Carney tangle as Salford seem to be sucked in to these tactics. Then comes the crucial part of the match the Giants come up with a mistake and a thrilling Salford move sees the try of the game! Mason Caton Brown shows lightening pace to score in the corner. O Brien misses the kick 28-12. The game seems safe now and with 7 minutes to go the impressive Feleti Mateo gets a brilliant pass away to the man of the moment Caton Brown who races over for his hat trick much to the delight of the Salford crowd! O Brien kicks the goal 34-12 to give the Red Devils the perfect start to this 7 game survival competition.
This was probably one of there best 80 minutes of the season. Solid in defence and thrilling on attack scoring some special tries and doing the tough stuff when it mattered. On to Leigh next week which should be another exciting contest one which I can't wait to see The team and supporters should be proud today after it was a very good day for Salford RLFC. Final score Salford 34 Huddersfield 12.
Ian Watson was happy with the performance here is what he had to say about the win.
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