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!!
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