Player preview 2018 part 2

Salford Red Devil’s 2018 season starts on Friday against Wigan Warriors, here we look at who may star for the club in 2018.

Josh Jones is the ultimate utility player. Strong in defence, powerful in attack he is equally at home both in the 2nd row or in the centres.

With over 2000 metres made, 500 tackles and 6 try asssits in 2017 We are hoping for another big year for him.

Rob Lui is a important player for Salford.

A late transfer bid from Hull KR was turned down by Salford so Rob will be a Red Devil in 2018.

With 23 assists and 6 tries in 2017 show he is a key cog in the Salford wheel. He has all the skills to  have another big season for Salford in 2018.

Kris Brining has a great 1st season for Salford Red Devil’s, he was voted best newcomer and best young player in a Devil in the Detail poll of listeners at the end of 2017.

Solid in defence, quick round the ruck, creative with ball in hand this young man has the world at his feet in 2018 and anything is possible.

Ryan Lannon is turning into a great forward, with great footwork and a impressive turn of pace he can cause opposition defences trouble.

2018 will be another big year for him to continue his development.

 Manu Vatuvei made a huge impression when he signed for Salford in 2017. With his powerful running style in attack and strong defence he became a fans favourite.

Unfortunately for him a serious injury late on in pre season will delay the start of his 2018 season.

We wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to more great performances later in 2018.

Another fans favourite is Junior Sa’u. His all action style of play both in attack and defence in 2017 was impressive.

With 9 tries, 10 assists he is a powerful attacking weapon for Salford and we expect to see the same in 2018.

Mark Flanagan is a key member of this Salford Red Devil’s Team. Being team captain on the field he will inspire his players to put in some great performances in 2018 with his non stop working style of play.

Daniel Murray had a excellent 1st season with Salford Red Devil’s in 2017. With a powerful running style and a strong defensive game he will be looking to continue his progression in 2018.

Josh Wood has impresssed in preseason, the young hooker will be looking to more 10/10 performances throughout the season and cement his place in  the starting 17 this season.

Nial Evalds will be a important player for Salford Red Devil’s in 2018, strong at fullback, full of pace and a eye for a try  he will be looking for another big season for the Reds. 

Pictures by Steve McCormick 📸

Salford v Wigan Big match preview

Salford begin their Super League campaign against top four fancied Wigan Warriors at the AJ Bell stadium on Friday evening.

With the Red Devils coming off the back of a friendly defeat against Warrington Wolves and the news that Manu Vatuvei is due for a long spell on the sidelines with a serious Achilles injury, there will be plenty for coach Ian Watson to look at before he picks his match-day 17.

Richard Lowe looks at where some key battles on the pitch and where the game could be decided.

Props: Lee Mossop v Ben Flower

We all remember where we were when, after just 2 minutes of the 2014 Grand final, Ben Flower leant over the already stricken St Helens player, Lance Hohaia and punched him. This of course gained Flower a certain reputation, but since then he’s built his game around hard hits and strong runs.

Salford’s Lee Mossop, once a team mate of Flower at Wigan, will be charged with making sure the Red Devils don’t see too much of him. The 29 year-old is back to full fitness after missing a lot of last season through injury after some impressive performances, so will be extremely keen to get back to the form he was in.

Loose: Mark Flanagan v Liam Farrell

With talisman Sean O’Loughlin missing from the Warriors 19, it could be that one of the second rows is deployed at loose on Friday. This would mean possibly Liam Farrell or Joel Tomkins dropping to the back of the scrum in an attempt to fill the void of the Wigan club Captain.

With Mark Flanagan making the loose forward position his own for Salford over the last few seasons – with Watto describing him as the glue that binds the team together – it’s a pivotal matchup that could go a long way to deciding who gets the points.

Flanagan, himself recovering from a shoulder injury that saw him out for the Super 8’s, will be desperate to get back on the field and hit the levels of performance that helped Salford to 4th in the regular season.

Hooker: Josh Wood v Thomas Leuluai

Josh Wood will most likely start from the interchange bench this Friday, but will almost certainly be used as replacement for Logan Tomkins.

In the absence of Kris Brining, the young hooker will want to prove he belongs at this level, looking occasionally a little light during his last season’s appearances, another year to have bulked up and honed his skills, will not have done him any harm. It’s obvious Ian Watson has faith in him, so there’s no reason to doubt his potential.

Thomas Leuluai on the other hand has nothing to prove. A world cup winner with New Zealand in 2008, the evergreen performer is a model of consistency. At 32 however, do we see him entering the Autumn of his career? Will he have lost a yard of pace from dummy half?

It’s critical the Salford forwards (and in particularly his opposite number) minimise his thinking time and also ensure that his runs are kept to a minimum, otherwise he will free up space for the rest of the Wigan team around the ruck.

Halves: Rob Lui v George Williams

The halfback partnership of Dobson and Lui is now consigned to history for the Red Devils and we must now look to the future.

With Gareth O’Brien moving into the halves along with new signing Jack Littlejohn, Salford need Rob Lui to have the consistency of performances that he has done over the last few seasons. His running game (for which he is hugely underrated) and his ability to spot a pass are his main assets and we will hope this continues for the 2018 season.

His general game management is also something that needs to come to the fore, now Michael Dobson is no longer there, particularly against such as strong side as Wigan. It’s critically important therefore, that he gets off to a good and confident start this Friday.

England international Williams, though disappointed to be left out of a lot of the World Cup, will none-the-less be a menace. Salford will need to ensure he is controlled tightly and put under pressure from his opposite number early on.

Allowing him time and space to run up to the defensive line, will be a recipe for disaster as his little kicks in behind the defence, as well as his handling skills make him a handful.

If Salford can ensure Wigan’s ball players are put under pressure and through the big pack, we manage to control the ruck speed, it could be a happy Friday for our supporters.

Going forward it’s obvious we will miss Manu Vatuvei’s strong ball carries, but there is enough talent through the halves and out wide that could see us causing the Wigan defence a great deal of problems, should we get the field position.

Tickets are still available please visit the Clubs website below and purchase your tickets from there. 

https://www.salfordreddevils.net/buy-tickets-season-opener-wigan/

Player Preview

Salford Red Devil’s will start the 2018 with optimism after a change of ownership and memories of a fantastic 2017 fresh in the minds of the Salford Faithful. Here we look at which players could star in the 2018 season.

This season Gaz O’Brien will be a very important piece in the Salford Red Devil’s jigsaw. 

After his heroics in the Million Pound game in 2016. He produced some great displays in 2017 from fullback.

With 8 tries, 14 assists and 45 goals he contributes a lot to Salford’s play.

Ian Watson is considering moving Gaz O’Brien to scrum half role, moving him to have a greater influence on the Salford maybe another Ian Watson master stroke to come.

Jake Bibby had a very exciting 2017. Breaking into the 1st team and establishing himself as a key member of Salford’s back division.

Strong in defence and attack Jake scored 6 tries in 2017. We are hoping for another great season in 2018.

Kris Welham was a late signing for Salford from Bradford in 2017 but he did not disappoint.

With 11 tries and 6 assists he formed a very dangerous partnership with his wing partner Greg Johnson.

A out and out centre, with very good footwork he can continue to cause opposition defences problems in 2018.

Jack Littlejohn is a new signing for the 2018 season.

The half back signed from West Tigers has a excellent kicking game and he is known for his leadership abilities on the field.

The pressure is on to replace one of Salfords talismen last season Michael Dobson but we are confident we will see something special from Jack in 2018.

Weller Haraki has been appointed club captain for 2018, the experienced 2nd row forward is creative with ball in hand and always a willing worker.

Having the extra responsibility of being captain will be great for him and we look forward to a superb 2018.

George Griffin has developed over the last few years into a key member of the salford pack,  a workhorse both in attack and defence for salford throughout 2017 we predict another season on heroic efforts from him.

Logan Tomkins cemented himself as Salford’s 1st choice hooker in 2017, his organisation in attack with 109 runs from dummy half runs and strong defence which included 682 tackles makes him a key part of this large Salford Red Devil’s pack in 2018.

Greg Johnson showed some deadly finishing in 2017 for the Salford Red Devil’s. He has pace to burn and the eye for a dramatic finish he collected 10 tries last season.

Fans favourite Craig Kopczak has it all, a leader on the field, a powerful runner with the ball and strong in defence, the Salford Faithful has taken him to their hearts.

The heartbeat of the Salford pack in 2018 we feel it’s going to be another great year for him.

Lami Tasi is a loves a big hit in defence, his style of play reaily excites the fans and we are sure with ball in hand or in defence he will be terrorising opponents in 2018.

Pictures by Steve McCormick 

Check out this weeks Devil in the Detail Podcast here as we look forward to the 2018 season with interviews from Craig Kopczak, Rob Lui, Josh Wood and Tyrone McCarthy 

Warrington 18 Salford 6 match report

Salford finished their 2018 pre season campaign with defeat against Warrington at the Halliwell Jones Stadium. Paul Whiteside takes you through the action.

 It was another bitterly cold afternoon as the Super League season got ever closer. The big news of the close season was the Ben Murdoch Masila transfer between the two clubs and the question on most supporters lips was would Ben play today after being named in the Wolves Squad. The Red Devil’s we’re still without the injured Kris Brining (neck) and the suspended Ryan Lannon.

Warrington set a real good pace early as they had much of the territorial advantage. Robert Lui came up with a super cover tackle to keep the Salford line intact. The Wolves seem to target Derrell Olpherts peppering him with kicks but he was equal to the test again showing huge potential.


Salford were very patient in the opening quarter of the game but were rewarded in the 24th minute when Lui’s crafty grubber kick hit the post only for the star man to regather and dive over the line. Gareth O Brien added the goal 0-6.
Olpherts couldn’t take a pass close to the line from centre Jake Bibby as a try chance went begging. Josh Wood played the first 30 minutes at hooker and was excellent again. The youngster seems to have improved so much in the close season. His tough tackling and crisp accuracy of his passing being a real eye catcher. The wolves came close through Matty Russell as Manu Vatuvei gambled going for the interception only for centre Junior Sau to put the speedy winger in to touch with a tremendous tackle.

Four minutes from the break Ben Murdoch Masila hit a good line and his off load sent Joe Philbin over. Young scrum half Harvey Livett levelled the scores at 6-6.
The Wolves seemed to up the tempo at the start of the second half and two minutes in Ben Currie sent another former Salford star Stefan Ratchford over.
Livett’s goal extended the home sides lead to 12-6.

The Red Devil’s almost hit straight back when a lovely looping pass from Weller Hauraki sent Olpherts over in the corner. Referee Chris Kendall adjudged the pass forward to deny Salford.
Ryan Atkins then put breathing space between the two sides when Manu Vatuvei got stuck under a high kick. The wolves centre scoring in the corner.
Livett faultless with the boot made it 18-6.


Salford continued to battle hard with all 24 players in the squad getting a run out. For Ian Watson attention now switches to Wigan warriors on the 2nd of February. Speaking after the match Watson was pleased with the run out and the defence for long stages of the game.

Pictures by Steve Mccormick

Check out this weeks pop up podcast from the devil in the detail here. Paul Whiteside went to Salford Red Devils media day and had chance to talk to Levy Nzoungou, Luke Burgess and Gavin Bennion about the 2018 season to come. A great listen tune in here.

Warrington preview

Salford travel to Warrington on Saturday for their final friendly of 2018. Richard Lowe looks forward to what is to come for us fans and Ian Watsons men.

Salford play their second friendly match of the month against perennial top 4 favourites, Warrington this weekend.

The Red Devils will be hoping to build on their outing last week against Swinton, where they ran out comfortable winners, 50-12.

It appears that there is almost a full squad to choose from, however Kris Brining who is still recovering from a neck problem will be rested again as a precaution and Ryan Lannon will be serving his 2nd of a 3 match ban.

Ian Watson appears to be happy with his forward pack and has picked the same starting forward line as he did last week.

In the backs, Rob Lui is set to start alongside Gareth O’Brien in the halves with sponsors and fans man of the match against Swinton, Jack Littlejohn dropping to the Interchange bench. Manu Vatuvei and Derell Olpherts will start on the wings, in place of Jake Bibby who will move to the centres, and Greg Johnson.

Once again, it’s expected that the majority of the squad will get a run out at some point.

For the home team, many of the away supporter’s eyes will be on Ben Murdoch Massilla who moved the short distance West on the M62, to sign for The Wire during the close season.

The Wolves fans will be hoping to see those barnstorming runs that SRD fans became accustomed to during the 2017 season. As ever, their squad looks exceptionally strong on paper, but they will need to ensure they avoid a repeat of what happened last year.

The Red Devils will be confident they can do well this weekend, having beaten Warrington home and away last season.

The Wolves have to greatly improve if they want to challenge for honours, after an extremely disappointing 2017, finishing in the bottom 4 and having to go through the ignominy of the qualifiers to ensure their Super League status.

Ian Watson will be hoping the team get another good run out and performance, while balancing that with trying to keep his squad injury free and ready for the season opener against Wigan 2 weeks on Friday.

Starting Line up: Niall Evalds, Derrell Olpherts, Jake Bibby, Junior Sa’u, Manu Vatuvei, Rob Lui, Gareth O’Brien, Lee Mossop, Josh Wood, Lama Tasi, Josh Jones, Weller Hauraki, Tyrone McCarthy.

Interchanges: Greg Johnson, Kris Welham, Jack Littlejohn, Craig Kopczak, Logan Tomkins, George Griffin, Mark Flanagan, Luke Burgess, Ben Nakubuwai, Levy Nzoungou, Dan Murray, Gavin Bennion

Warrington:

Full Squad: Ryan Atkins, Kevin Brown, Mitch Brown, Daryl Clark, Mike Cooper, Ben Currie, Bryson Goodwin, Chris Hill, Jack Hughes, Jack Johnson, Luis Johnson, George King, Tom Lineham, Harvey Livett, Pat Moran, Ben Murdoch-Masila, Joe Philbin, Taylor Prell, Stefan Ratchford, Matty Russell, Morgan Smith.

Check out this weeks podcast below we speak to Dawn Fidler and Hanna Fendall 2 of the new directors of the club about their vision for the club, interviews with Dan Murray Koppy, Nial Evalds and Derrell Olpherts who give us their views on the Swinton game and the Warrington game to come.

A cracking show tune in below

Pictures by Steve McCormick

Salford 50 Swinton 12

An old rivalry was renewed as Salford took on the Swinton Lions at the AJ Bell stadium. Both sides had plenty of new signings on show on what was a bitterly cold but dry afternoon. 

Jack Littlejohn started at scrum half and pulled the strings in the opening exchanges with his kicking game pegging the lions back on a number of occasions. 

Greg Johnson grabbed the opening score after nice quick hands in the build up before Kris Welham sent the wing man over. Gareth O Briens glorious kick sailed over from the touch line 6-0.

Lama Tasi went on the burst before putting Tyrone McCarthy under the posts with a neat short pass. O Brien extended the lead to 12-0.

Just after the half way mark Kris Welham sliced through the lions defence as Salford clicked in to gear working the numbers superbly in a marauding attack. O Brien this time didn’t convert 16-0.

Young Josh Wood started the match at hooker and his pace set the next Salford try up with a thrilling break. Niall Evalds just had the legs on former Salford player George Tyson who’s gallant tackle was just not enough. O Brien added the goal 22-0.

Five minutes before the break Swinton’s new Australian signing Hayden Hansen pouched a try from close range. Centre Chris Hankinson added the goal. The Red Devil’s led 22-6 at the break.

Gareth O Brien cut through a gap in the early stages of the second half his lovely step and pace took him over for a nice try which he converted 28-6.

Derrell Olpherts then grabbed two try’s on his debut. Derrell was very impressive showing good pace and block busting power on a number of occasions finishing both his tries well.

On 72 minutes the hard working lions were rewarded with an excellent try themselves when Hankinson went over. The young centre added the goal to his try 38-12. Swinton coach Stuart Littler May have been a bit disappointed though with the final two minutes as Salford cut away with two tries as substitute Robert Lui and young forward Gavin Bennion went over.

Ian Watson was pleased with the run out and had been able to try combinations out in different areas. 

Salford now travel to Warrington next Saturday in there final pre season match before the Super League opener against Wigan.

Final score Salford 50 Swinton 12.

Paul Whiteside.

Pictures by Steve McCormick 

https://soundcloud.com/devil-in-the-detail-srd/bright

Check out this weeks podcast here as we talk to Salford’s new signing and Man of the match from yesterday Jack Littlejohn