Salford 10 St Helens 60 Match Report

St. Helens arrived at The AJ Bell Stadium top of the Super League table and showed on the pitch tonight they certainly are the real deal. 

Tommy Makinson scored the opening try of the night after a slick Saints move. 

Salford’s Greg Johnson was then completely isolated and rooted to the ground trying to defend a high Danny Richardson kick. Johnson’s indecision allowing Dom Peyroux to touch down.

On the very next set the visitors cut Salford to pieces with there attacking options. Fantastic support play and perhaps a hint of obstruction as referee Chris Kendall asked for the video referee. The try was awarded to Ben Barba.

Niall Evalds came up with a mistake close to his own line as things went from bad to worse for Salford. Back to back sets was touch much for the Red Devil’s defence and with three defenders in close attention Ryan Morgan some how got the ball down.

Tyrone McCarthy powered over to get Salford on the score sheet. Jake shorrocks converting 6-22.

Salford’s night was then summed up. Josh Wood with an excellent piece of defence forced a drop out trapping Barba in goal. 

Wood off load moments later went straight to Barba who raced the length of the field to crush any Salford hopes of a victory. 

Saints substitute Matty Lees was shown the red card for a wreckless challenge on Niall Evalds. The Salford fullback didn’t return after unfortunately failing his concussion assessment.

The 12 men of Saints some how managed to create an over lap against Salford’s 13 players allowing Regan Grace to touch down.

Trailing 6-32 at the break Salford couldn’t stem the tide. Grace grabbed his second try before Chris Percival went over. Man of the moment Barba went in for his hat trick try off a clever kick through 6-48.

Former Salford star Theo Fages brought the 50 points up before Ryan Morgan grabbed a brace.

Kris Welham scored a try for Salford with almost the final play of the match.

A very disappointing performance after so much hard work the previous week. Things don’t get any easier for Ian Watson’s men with an away trip to Wigan next Friday. St. Helens were just to good tonight in every department.

Salford 10 St. Helens 60

Paul Whiteside.

Pictures by Steve McCormick 

Salford v St Helens Big match preview

A few weeks ago, looking at the fixture list and seeing Saint Helens coming to town, you could have been forgiven for not being overly optimistic as a Salford fan. Now though with back to back victories, a performance that Ian Watson labelled one of the best in three years and the Saints slipping up against Wakefield, there seems a new found optimism around the club and fans.

With The 38-4 demolition of Trinity fresh in the minds, Salford will be keen to press on with their performances and keep up the intensity they showed across nearly all the game on Friday last week.

With Rob Lui injured, however, Ian Watson will have to rely heavily on Jack Littlejohn as his only true half and hoping Mark Flanagan and Tyrone McCarthy can step up and provide some pivots as they did so ably last time out.

Saints in contrast have few injury concerns ahead of Thursday’s match, however the absence of James Roby could be important and is an area that Watto could potentially target.

Let’s look at those critical areas of the pitch that could make the difference in the head to heads:

Wood/Littlejohn V Fages/Smith

The Lui / Littlejohn axis was developing week on week, for Salford, but due to Rob Lui’s injury during the Wakefield game, it meant Wood and Flanagan doing a lot of work in the halves. It appeared that because of this, Littlejohn thrived on the opportunity and had his best game since arriving at the start of the season. Let’s hope his confidence continues into this match and Wood and other pivots can rely on him to control the game.

Give any team in super league room to play and you’ll be in a lot of trouble. This is no different for top scorers and league leaders St Helens. 

They have creativity all over the field, but the Salford defence cannot allow former Red Devils’ Matty Smith or Theo Fages any time or space on the ball, otherwise it could be a long evening for Salford players and fans alike.

Big Ben v Amor.

Ben Nakubuwai had another great performance last week, running hard and straight and barely missing a tackle. Salford will need every bit of that performance and more should they wish to get anything from this match. This area in particular is somewhere they have competed fiercely with any all all super league clubs so far this season and is one part of the field that they may have the edge this Thursday.

Kyle Amor got his name on the scoresheet for Saints last week during their hammering of  Huddersfield Giants. As with many in this confident Saints side, he is keen to offload when he sees an opportunity and this is something that Salford’s pack will need to nullify if they want to get something out of the game.

Evalds v Barba

With Gareth O’Brien gone, Niall Evalds has become an automatic first on the team sheet. His calmness under the high ball and his defensive positioning has been very impressive all season even during the losses he’s looked solid. He will be severely tested again on Thursday, the expectation on him to perform is testament to how much his game has improved over the last 2 seasons.

It’s not an understatement to say that Ben Barba has lit up Super league so far this season. His brace of tries during Saints last outing could have been 4 or 5 such was their dominance during the game. His breathtaking speed and acceleration will be something that concern the Salford coaching staff and it will clearly be something they will have worked on this week in training. Can he be blunted?

Last 6 games head to head


Form guide

On paper, the power and creativity of St Helens should be more than a match for The Red Devil’s, however they’ve shown against Wakefield that they can be vulnerable in defence and you can be certain Ian Watson has been studying the weaknesses and will be hoping to exploit them. This factor alongside the good recent form, performances and hopefully a large and loud following from the Salford faithful and they could power their way to victory! Come on Salford!

Salford Red Devil’s 38 Wakefield 4

Salford Red Devil’s made it back to back wins to leap frog Wakefield Trinity on the Super League table with a tremendous performance tonight. 

It was a perfect start with a try from Junior Sa’u after just 90 seconds. The Red Devil’s came out of the blocks at a fair old pace tonight. 

Wakefield however asked plenty of questions of Salford’s defence with six sets of six on The Red Devil’s line in the opening 15 minutes. Ian Watson prides his side on there defence and the desire and commitment his side showed tonight was quite remarkable.

On the half hour mark Josh Wood made an instant impact off the bench linking up well with Daniel Murray to bust Wakefield down the middle. Wood was caught by a high tackle with Robert Lui opting to kick the penalty 8-0.

Lui hobbled off with a calf injury just before the break.

Salford were already missing Josh Jones, Lee Mossop, Lama Tasi and Weller Hauraki through injury and with Lui out of action things were getting tough.

This Salford side how ever is made of real stern stuff and turned the game on it’s head blowing Wakefield away with a perfect second half display of devastating attacking rugby league. 

Niall Evalds quick thinking from a tap saw him race 60 yards with the crowd on there feet. Reece lynne managed to track back but his deliberate holding down earned him a yellow card. Salford played it very cautiously by taking the two points on offer. Tyrone McCarthy kicking the goal 10-0.

Moments later McCarthy hit a lovely short pass to go crashing over for a try. Converting his own try to extend the lead to 16-0.

Two minutes later the destruction continued when Ryan Lannon powered over. McCarthy failed to convert but Salford were 20-0 up and very good value for it.

Joe Arundel grabbed a try to get Wakefield on the scoresheet but that was soon cancelled out by Jake Bibby who’s super finish in the corner after neat passing from Evalds and Welham provided the try of the night 24-4.

George Griffin charged over off Logan Tomkins short ball 12 minutes from time before Bibby raced in for his second try. 

Jack Littlejohn had a fantastic second half and set up the final try for Greg Johnson with a teasing kick. 

Ian Watson was delighted after the match. Thrilled to score 38 points but even more so keeping Wakefield to just four points. Speaking after the match “ the boys should be proud of there efforts today, I know what these lads can do and how they can play. Our defence is the first thing we look to, the boys all understand there role and there doing it really well.”

Salford are back in action next Thursday at the AJ Bell Stadium when they host league leaders St. Helens.

Final score Salford 38 Wakefield Trinity 4.

Paul Whiteside.

Pictures by Steve McCormick 📸

Big Match Preview Salford v Wakefield

Salford Red Devils vs Wakefield Trinity

Super League - Friday 20th April – AJ Bell Stadium – KO 8PM

After their first away win of the season against Huddersfield Giants on Sunday, the Salford Red Devils have the chance to consolidate their place in the top 8 with a Friday night match against Wakefield.

Trinity themselves will be in buoyant mood following their impressive victory against table topping St Helens last week and will be keen to keep up their momentum with another win to distance themselves from the bottom 4.

Ian Watson will see this as a good opportunity for another 2 home points, before 2 potentially tricky looking games at home against St Helens, then away against Wigan Warriors.

The Red Devils are missing a couple of players and have been forced to make 2 changes to the 19 that was named against the Giants. Tyrone McCarthy comes in to replace Josh Jones and Luke Burgess in for Lee Mossop. It is still a big pack however and something that must be pleasing to the manager is that he’s able to call on good quality replacements even when there are injuries.

Chris Chester names just 1 change from his 19 against the Saints. Pauli Pauli replaces the injured Chris Annakin.

Let’s have a look at some of the head to heads that could decide the contest:

Props: Ben Nakubuwai v Pauli Pauli

‘Big Ben’ has improved with each game he has played and looks a real handful in both attack and defence. He is playing with a smile on his face at the moment and that is reflected in his performances on the pitch. The Salford fans and team will hope his try last week will be the first of many and his combination play with some of his teammates is very encouraging. His strong tackling is also a key area of his game and will be needed if the Salford forwards are able to get on top of Wakefield’s big pack.

Not many come bigger than Wakefield’s prop forward, Pauli-Pauli. At 6ft 4in and 19 stone, he is a real handful once getting up a head of steam and so needs to be stopped early on before he builds up too much momentum. The Aussie power house will be keen to impress over this season having been signed by Wakefield from Newcastle Knights in the NRL.

Second Row: Weller Hauraki v Matty Ashurst

After arguably his best performance in a Salford shirt against Huddersfield last week, Weller Hauraki - along with the Salford fans -will hope that it simply wasn’t just a flash in the pan. His runs with and without the ball were particularly impressive on the edges and allowed space for Jake Bibby to score his tries, as well as going over himself. Weller has always been a strong tackler, but seems to have gained confidence to carry the ball more. This is something that Ian Watson will be hoping he can develop through the course of the season.

Matty Ashurst has looked in very good form for Trinity in 2018. He has clearly been keen to prove that last season - where he was named Coaches and Players player of the year – wasn’t just a one off. He was also top tackler for the club in 2017. All of the Wakefield forward line are powerful runners and like an offload should the opportunity present itself. Therefore, the Salford team will need to be mindful if getting the players to ground as quickly as possible. 

Hooker: Josh Wood v Kyle Wood

In Josh Wood, The Red Devils have one of the best young hookers anywhere in Super League. His ability to spot a gap or to make the right decision in a quick play the ball is growing every game. That coupled with his powerful tackling make him one of Ian Watson’s most valuable names on the team sheet currently. Not content with being a great hooker, in the past few weeks he’s also shown his versatility by playing in the halves as cover for Rob Lui who had to deputise at fullback. If his development continues, Watto may have trouble in choosing his hookers, with Kris Brining due back soon from his neck injury. What a nice problem to have!

Wakefield Hooker, Kyle Wood picked up Trinity’s Man of Steel Award last season, and has clearly now come of age. He’s hardly missed a game in the past season and is showing consistently high levels of performance. For Salford it’s key he’s kept quiet around the ruck and that his decision making time is kept to a minimum, so he’s not able to dominate that area.

Standoff: Rob Lui v Jacob Miller

Another Salford player showing his versatility during the past few weeks is Star Man Rob Lui. In the past 4 games he’s gone from standoff to full back, taken on full time kicking duties, then reverted back to standoff. All the while keeping up consistently high levels of performance. Arguably man of the match again last week against Huddersfield, he looked back at home doing what he does best, controlling the game in the halves with his place kicking and ball distribution. In what fans will be hoping is a fast open game, Lui’s decision making could be the difference.

Another half in the Rob Lui mould, Jacob Miller, is having another exceptional season. With Trinity having a settled half back pairing – Miller’s partnership with scrum half Liam Finn – it’s clear a lot of the open expansive rugby is honed on the training ground. It’s vital therefore from a Salford point of view that this partnership is not allowed to settle in the game. If Salford can do this, then the Reds may just have the edge.

Last 6 games


Current form

Both packs are huge and both sets of halves can play expansively. With it being forecast a nice, warm, dry sunny Friday for the match, where else would we want to be? Get down to the AJ Bell and support your team. C’mon Salford!!

Salford in the 8 after Giant Win

With both sides at the wrong end of the Super League table a victory really did seem vital today for Salford. Just three minutes in Robert Lui kicked a fantastic 40/20 to get the Red Devil’s on the front foot.  The wet conditions were hampering both sides in the early stages with mistakes a plenty.

Mark Flanagan grabbed Salford’s first points powering over from close range. Lui converted 0-6. On the very next set Salford received a penalty and made the field position count. Three forwards combined to come up with a lovely move. Lee Mossop’s short pass to Flanagan who’s tap on pass found Ben Nakabuwia. Ben charged under the posts with Lui’s conversion doubling the lead to 0-12.

The Red Devil’s were now very much on top, Niall Evalds came close to scoring on his return from injury only to be denied by Giants wing man Aaron Murphy. 

Huddersfield got back into the match against the run of play. Logan Tomkins giving away a needless penalty when in possession by pushing at the play the ball right in front of his own sticks. Danny Brough’s long pass finding young winger Innes Senior who kept calm to finish superbly in the corner. Brough’s conversation dragging the Giants very much in to the contest. 6-12.

Salford’s defence had to stand firm for the later stages of the first half with the hosts enjoying plenty of possession and territory.

Robert Lui continued to cause havoc for the Giants slicing through there defence on another thrilling break. Jordan Rankin saves a certain try darting out of the defensive line to intercept the ball.

Three minutes in to the second half Salford edged further ahead from Lui’s penalty goal. Huddersfield conceding a real soft penalty for an incorrect play the ball. 6-14.

Weller Hauraki charged over for a well worked try after neat work from Lui and Littlejohn. This try really gave Salford some breathing space after lui tagged the conversion on 6-20.

For the next 15 minutes The Red Devil’s had plenty of defending to do with Giants half back pairing of Brough and Lee Gaskell throwing everything in to there attacks. Gaskell’s short pass to Oliver Roberts sent the strong forward crashing over to give the Giants hope 12-20.

With 8 minutes remaining Flanagan was taken out off the ball in a strong challenge. Lui wisely opting to take the two points on offer from the penalty . 

Danny Brough was then shown the red card by referee James Child for what appeared to be something that was said to the touch judge. Salford made the extra man count with Jake Bibby crossing for two tries in the final four minutes. Lui failing to convert both of them unfortunately hitting the post off the touch line with the final one.

A much needed victory for Ian Watson’s Salford side, the only real worry being a nasty looking injury to Josh Jones and Lee Mossop coming off after a head injury.

Speaking to Ian Watson after the game he was delighted with the result, 

“Away from home you’ve got to stick in and be tough we were pretty resilient defensively which got us the rewards at the back end of the game”.

Robert Lui and Weller Hauraki really were stand out performers for Salford who now turn there attention to Wakefield Trinity at the AJ Bell Stadium on Friday night.

Final score Huddersfield 12 Salford 30.

Paul Whiteside.

Pictures by Steve McCormick 

Derby Day defeat for Salford

Salford Red Devil’s were back in action at The AJ Bell Stadium against an in form Warrington Wolves. The wolves had claimed back to back victories over Easter beating Widnes last Thursday and then Castleford on the Monday.

Former Salford star Ben Murdoch Masila was missing through injury.

The Wolves came out firing in the opening stages, Toby King and Josh Charnley combining well exchanging passes before King touched down in the fourth minute. The video referee Robert Hicks awarded the try after checking for a foot in touch. Stefan Ratchford missed the conversion. 

Soon after Ratchford was involved again, his looping pass found Charnley who raced in at the corner. Ratchford hit the post this time with the conversion attempt. 0-8.

Warrington continued to dominate as Toby King came close to scoring his second try only for the quick thinking Junior Sau to beat him to a high kick.

Tyrone Roberts high kick caused panic as the Salford defenders allowed the ball to bounce. Roberts couldn’t believe his look as he cantered to the line for the wolves third try of the opening quarter.

Robert Lui playing at fullback for the injured Niall Evalds got Salford on the score sheet with an excellent try. Slicing through the Wolves defence to race to the line. Lui added the goal 6-14.

Lama Tasi made a thrilling break on the next set as Salford began to put Warrington under pressure. Unfortunately the support wasn’t there and the chance was gone.

As the second half got under way Ryan Lannon came up with a mistake deep in his own half. Salford’s defence held firm as Warrington tried to put the game to bed. Roberts, Ratchford and Kevin Brown pulling the strings Salford struggled to cope with the attacking options and off load game there visitors possessed. 

Jake Bibby had the crowd on there feet as he picked up a loose ball to go on a rampaging run down the touch line beating two defenders before being tackled. This seemed to lift the Red Devil’s and moments later Lui’s pin point kick found Bibby who only had to fall on the ball over the try line. Some how his in decision led to an error and blow a certain score.

Defences were definitely on top in the second half, the only try coming 8 minute from time as Ratchford turned creator again to put Brown through a gap to touch down. Ratchford converted to put the game beyond Salford at 6-20.

The former Salford favourite added a penalty goal in the 76th minute 6-22.

Salford’s effort and endeavour was there for all to see this afternoon. Losing Logan Tomkins late on this week was another blow for coach Ian Watson who with the smallest squad in Super League is certainly doing it tough at the moment. Ian thrives on challenges he faces and was in fine form after the match in a brutally honest press conference and interview.

Speaking to Ian after the game he said “we’ve got a team of fully committed lads who are working there backsides off for the club, we just lack that bit of quality to beat the top teams. We compete for large parts of the game.”

Salford’s spine has changed numerous times this season and the side is nowhere near as settled as this time last year. For the young players in The Salford side there learning valuable lessons at the moment.

It’s a much needed 8 day break now for The Red Devil’s who travel to Huddersfield Giants next Sunday, 3pm kick off.

Final score 

Salford 6 Warrington 22

Paul Whiteside.

Pictures by Steve McCormick 📸