Warrington 22 Salford 8

A huge Salford away following witnessed a tough game in Salfords opening fixtures of this Super league season against Warrington.

The 1st 20 minutes was full of passion from both Side's with Cory Patterson and Gaz Hock showing great aggression against a big Warrington Pack.

Salford had their chances early door Patterson went close after breaking the Warrington line, Josh Griffin picked up a loose ball and was pushed into touch with the line begging and Ben Jones Bishop spilt the ball when the overlap was in Salfords favour.

It took 27 minutes for Wire to break the deadlock ex Salford player Stefan Ratchford worked his magic sending another ex red Richie Myler's to score the opening try.

Mickey Higham then dived over from close range despite claims of a incorrect play of the ball and  Ratchford converted.

Adam walne saw yellow for persistent fouling as the game got close to half time. Salford were down to 12 men and with some heroic defence kept the score to 12-0 at half time.

Salford weathered the Warrington storm early in the 2nd half and after 10 minutes Warrington found themselves down to 12 men. Ben Westwood yellow-carded for a horrible head tackle on Walne.

Salford pressed trying to take advantage of the extra man but Warrington came up with a sucker punch Atkins bagged their third try from a kick though and despite heroics by Johnson trying to keep him out scored 18-0 and Salford had a mountain to climb.

Salford continued to press and were rewarded when Jones-Bishop collected Dobson's cut out pass to go over in the corner just before the hour. 18-4

Despite some Salford pressure Evans scored for Warrington and the match was over as a contest

Salford made the scoreline more respectable with Jones-Bishop's second try two minutes from time after a good break by Rangi Chase and quick hands gave the flying winger time to go over.

Despite defeat Salford gave a battling performance for the 2000 fans that made the journey and will take confidence into the game on Thursday night against St Helens

Salford 46 Hunslet 0

Salford finished their pre season in style with a convincing win over Hunslet 46-0.
During a cold afternoon at South Leeds Stadium Salford showed enough to the traveling support especially in the 1st Half that when they need to turn up the heat on their opponents they Can.

Salfords 1st Try came after 6 minutes though Scott Taylor who after good work from Lee crashed over by the posts.

Taylor had a hand in Salfords 2nd try too, a barnstorming run causing chaos in the Hunslet defence allowed Caton Brown space to score

With Rangi Chase converting both  Salford lead 12-0.

Salford had to wait till the 20th minute for their next score, good work by Theo sending Chase under the posts to score.

Greg Johnson was next on the scoresheet 6 minutes later intercepting a loose pass to race 80m to score. Chase converted again and despite a late rally in the 1st Half by Hunslet Salford lead 24 nil at the break.

The 2nd half started and Theo Fagas continued his good pre season form grubber kicking through the Hunslet defence to score 4 minutes into the 2nd half.

Just like last week 2nd half became a bit of a gammy affair, Hunslet battled bravely and Salford were happy just to trade sets.

Hunslets resistance was broken 10 minutes from time when Rangi Chase used his maic from a scrum to go over untouched.

Theo Fagas tormented the Hunslet defence late on and after a bit of magic sent Caton Brown over for his 2nd.
Chase kicked another and it was 0-40.

The final try came from Niel Evans deputising for the absent Locke who cut though the tiring Hawks defence to score from 50m.

Rangi Chase made it 7/8 conversions and Salford fans went away from this final pre season friendly thinking could this be the year of the Devil.

Salford 66 Swinton 4

Salford 1st home game of the season started well with a convincing win over neighbours Swinton Lions in the Alan Henning memorial match.

A strong 1st 40 minutes were produced by Salford with Gareth Hock and Kevin Locke scoring in the 1st 10 minutes to put Salford 12-0 up

Rangi Chase was inspirational throughout tormenting the Swinton defence scoring his 1st try of the game before feeding John Ford with a pass who found Gareth Hock in Support to score his 2nd.

Salford were dominating the play good work by Josh Griffin sent Niall Evans over to score and Salford were in total control.

Salford continued to create opportunities, Kevin Locke danced over for his second after 30 minutes.

John Ford impressed throughout the game got on the score sheet after great pass by Walne.

Rangi Chase got his 2nd try after good work by Jay Walton sent him clear

Half time came with Salford leading 42-0. Despite a less intense 2nd half Salford continued to make the scoreboard tick over.

Rangi Chase completed his hat trick after 55 minutes a great break by J Walton. Swinton hit back with a try of their own after 64 minutes. Good work outwide Shaun Robinson managed to touch down in the corner under pressure from the Salford defence.

Salford found their feet again, Tony Puliatia found Theo Fague In the 69 minute who slid over by the posts

Salford finished with a flourish in the final 10 minutes Rangi Chase scored his 4th against a Tiring defence, and the last move of the game saw George Griffin burst through the Swinton Defence to Send Puliatia over for the final Try

Josh Griffin kicked the last of nine conversions and Salford could then look forward to their final pre season friendly against Hunslet Hawks safe in the knowledge that it was a good run out ahead of the 2015 season.

Pre and post match activities to make it a better game day experience

So its off season and the fans panel are meeting up to discuss what we would like to see on a match day.

As its difficult in off season to find / contact any of the chosen 12 thought I would pen a few of my ideas down to throw in the mix.

What is good entertainment

I go to the match and want value for money, sport can bring you this but sometimes you need the package to be good to attract people who might be new
to the sport.

Personally I like the band playing before the game gives it a good atmosphere and appeals to everyone.

I would like the previous weeks game on some of the TVs / historical good games that Salford won.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages but this as well as perhaps special guests who played in the game we are watching or a non playing player to talk about todays game.

keeping the two pint jugs is a must, saves you going back to the bar when it's busy.

I would like team news to be read out in the bar before the game.

There is stuff the club do for kids before the game like throwing a ball through the targets, driving cars n bouncy castles and Foundation providing coaching for kids on the spare pitch touches all the bases for various aged kids.

The under 19s playing before the game on the spare pitch is a good idea and should continue imo.

We need a shop, temporary a table has done the job but with a whole off season behind us maybe a clothes mobile unit like the the one in the picture at the bottom of this blog.

To save money and to make sure our match day budget isnt indented to much maybe ask if of our sponsors would like to advertise on it.

Game day experience starts inside

Inside the stadium I feel we need more identity. I would like perhaps boards / murials with our famous players / time line for our club. In the south stand / west stand

They would be screwed to the walls just like our badge is when we play and swapped / taken down when Sale play.

You could get a local college / uni students to design it

You could get a sponsor to put their name to it and advertise on it, taking our costs down.

The example below is from warringtons south stand it can be done as you can see

Id keep the shed signs in the south stand.

I would make sure that our bar areas / cafe is full of stock and is staffed correctly with pumps that fill 4 pints in one go.

I would keep the beer sellers with the bacpacks keeps qs down.

I would like the tannoys to be turned down slightly before kickoff so the crowd could sing a bit but not make it cheesy by asking them to do it.

Bookies so people can bet, you can do this in other grounds so shud be no problem

Half time entertainment

Keep the kids playing at half time

Keep the cheerleaders

Mascot races with foundation

After game

Full match replay recorded using existing technology the club owns record 1st half on one disc brings it down to fans bar @ half time. Same for 2nd half.

Discounted beer till 1st try is scored on replay or drinks offers

Coach speaks / mom about the match.

Band playing again

Summery

Some ideas might cost some money some wont cost a penny im sure Marwan, Martin scallan and the other 11 people involved in this process will work with the club and the stadium management to improve the match day experience.

 

Harris starts with a win and possibly more to come.

The Iestyn Harris era at Salford Red Devils started with a bang on friday night with a 38-24 win away at Bradford.

Tries from Jake Mullaney, Tim Smith, Andrew Dixon, Junior Sau, Rangi Chase, Tony Puliatua and Francis Meli saw Salford Home.

I thought that the whole game we didn't look in any danger of losing the game which for Salford playing away anywhere never mind Bradford is a new experience. 
Its a good sign that the Harris coming in is having a positive effect and hopefully more to come.

Crutial period of the season approaching

Looking at the fixture list and the league table the next 5 games will be crutial on how Salfords season will develop.

The easter period is alway tough with the league shield winners last season and Leeds Rhinos away on the Monday Iestyn Harris and his men will need to be on their game and produce two very good performances to pick up the points.
After these two games Salford have a tough trip to Catalan, Hull KR and Widnes in the cup to test themselves.

With Salford back in the 8 and needing more wins to cement their place further up the table I predict a 3/5 wins and being through to the next round of the cup would be minimum requirement with the squad we have.

Devil in the Detail...A family affair

On this weeks show Patrick is joined by his younger brother to discuss what has happened at Bradford, the amateur roundup, preview the easter weekend and the look back at the news stories from the world of Salford Red Devils over the last 7 days.

With nearly 500 plays of last week's podcast our biggest total in one week and our 3rd Highest ever it has become a huge success.
Another success was my commentary on the official Red Devils app with over 900 people listening in against Bradford.

With the Android version of the app due out next week im sure both the podcast  and the people listening to the live commentary including this Friday against Huddersfield will continue to grow.

A Crazy week in the world of Salford Red Devils

Well what a week it has been last Thursday night we went to the KC Stadium in Hull and witnessed one of Salfords greatest Challenge Cup comebacks to reach the 5th Round and lot of Salford Fans were dreaming of a good cup run to hopefully push our season on to greater things.

Looking back at the game we looked dead and buried a couple of times in the game but though pure grit and determination and a willingness not to throw in the towel we got ourselves off the canvass thanks to a last minute try from Francis Meli and a absolute wonderful touchline conversion by Jake Mullaney.

The scenes of pure joy i witnessed from my commentary box while commentating on the Salford Red devils official app of Salford fans jumping around celebrating was something that will live with me forever, it meant so much to the fans to still have a taste of glory in Rugby leagues greatest cup competition  and you could tell that by the celebrations.
 Lets be honest if we were to pick a trophy to win it would be the challenge cup over the super league title every time.

So we made it into extra time and in my opinion held our nerve well, Hull never really put us under any real pressure and we had good field position and kicked very well.
One towering kick by our man Rangi Chase was spilled by a hull defender, from the scrum Salford carmly played position football and allowed Rangi Chase who had been wonderful all night to kick Salford into the next round.

So 5 coaches of Salford Fans went home happy little did they know the drama was only just begining.

Stood at the Crossroads wondering which way to go

So Friday came Salford fans were still day dreaming of events of the previous night when news broke that Dr Koukash had ask Brain Noble to step down as coach of Salford Red Devils and take up a role of Director of Football at the club and his coaching duties would now be undertaken by Iestin Harris.

People say that following Salford is a rollercoaster ride, excitment to the very end with a blend of joy and despair chucked in to keep even the most level headed Salford fan in a constant tail spin, this week has been no different.

There are pros and cons to the decision that the Good Doctor has made regarding our change in our coaching deparment.

me, Patrick and Shirley Bradshaw Forever Reds chairperson will discuss it in detail on this weeks DEVIL IN THE DETAIL podcast out later today.
So tune in and listen to what we think and see if you agree

Wrong numbers in the cup

 Salford made it though to the next round of the cup and our coaching restrucring taking place most Salford fans thought the drama had ended there...they were wrong.
During the challenge cup Draw for the next round Leeds Rhinos Legend and Rugby league pundit Garry Schofield managed to confuse the number 9 ball with the number 6 ball.

Salfords name had already succesfully been pulled out of the hat as the home team but with the error highlighed on social media that the wrong team had been drawn away to the Red Devils.
The team who salford should have been drawn against at home was Bradford but as Widnes Vikings had been called out after a bit of confusion after the draw it was decided that the draw should stand.

Realistically we should be looking to beat both of them teams at home so in my opinion to ask for the draw to be redrawn and run the risk of pulling Leeds or St Helens out was too great.

I suspect if we had been drawn against Wigan and it should have been Bradford i think it would have been a different result.

Back for good

I just want to say sorry i have not blogged much recently, i have been busy co-hosting The Devil in the Detail podcast with Patrick Noone, so far it has been an amazing experience and with now 14 shows in the can its great that it has become a fixture in so many peoples weekly routine.

With over 5000 Listens, nearly 300 followers on twitter (@ditdsrd) and approaching 250 followers on Facebook (Devil in the Detail SRD) so far i would like to thank you for supporting it and listening, me, Patrick, Mark and Paul with continue to make it the best podcast it can be.
 

2014 The year of the Red Devil?

So a wave of optimism has engulfed the terraces of the A J Bell stadium, Dr Marwan Koukash has backed up his early promises of a exciting team packed with international stars to bring success to a success starved club Salford Red Devils.

With local hero Adrian Morley on board as captain, a mix of  English international power and skill provided by Messrs  Rangi Chase and Gareth Hock. The Master tactician Tim Smith pulling the strings and local lad Harrison Hanson returning to his home town club from Wigan Warriors it might just prove to be the exciting season the Doctors has promised.

There is also a unknown quality about players which have been recruited  for the coming season.

Jake Mullaney the young goal kicking Australian fullback may turn a few heads, Lami Tasi a powerful samoan front row forward will provide power and size to a already huge pack and Greg Johnson a flying try scoring winger from Batley must be licking his lips with the amount of opportunities which will come his way.

After the last 2 friendly games and the performances produced its fair to say that the promises of a top 4 to 6 finish might not be too far away if the players are to gel.

I predict that Salford without any major injury crisis will comfortably make the top 8 pushing for a top 6 spot.
In playoff football anything can happen and with the class in Salfords ranks I can see a trip to Wembley may be on the cards.

Is Doctor Marwan Koukash on a one man mission to save Rugby league?

A Doctor is duty bound to save a dying patient,  Dr Marwan Koukash has a doctorate in Electronics not medican but his values remain the same.

This week during Salford pre season launch at the Lowry the good Doctor went on the attack against the RFL and tour apart their handling of the recent league structuring, salary cap issues, giving steve Mcnamara's a new contract and the new television deal.

Listening to him pick the bones of each of these subjects was a master class, he wants the best for the sport and has the ideas, vision and communication skills to relay this to anyone who will listen.

His tactics do rub some opposition fans up the wrong way but ask yourself this is what he is saying right? Behind all the bravado and headline making his points are water tight and should be listened too and respected.

His RFL bashing and Salford red Devils promoting has got the club headlines in the national newspapers which can only be good.

More power to your elbow Marwan keep up the good work.

The Devil is always in the detail

Recently ive had the opportunity to help produce a new podcast radio show called Devil In The detail.

Its a independent fan run podcast where we talk about all things Salford Red Devils and interview players about what is going on in the world of Salford Rugby.

So far the positive comments we have received about the show have blown me away and I would like to thank everyone who has listened in.  Me and the rest of the Devil In The detail team will continue to try our best with your help to produce a show that you will continue to enjoy.

Find us on Twitter @ditdsrd and Facebook Devil in the Detail SRD
A list of our previous shows can be accessed using the link below

http://m.soundcloud.com/devil-in-the-detail-srd/tracks