JACK FLASH! Grandstand finish for Hastings

JACKSON HASTINGS produced a perfect farewell to the AJ Bell Stadium to help send Salford a step closer to their maiden Grand Final.

The Australian scrum-half – who joins Wigan next season – sliced over with eight minutes to go to put the final seal on a polished Red Devils display.

Old Trafford is fewer than five miles from Salford’s home ground, and is now 80 minutes away on the field.

Ian Watson’s side will face the loser of tonight’s St Helens v Wigan clash aiming to complete a fairytale campaign. Working on a lower budget and with a smaller squad than any of their top-five rivals, they have continued to punch above their weight.

And any thoughts their against-the-odds season might fizzle out were dismissed with a polished

Tigers.

Much has rightly been made about Hastings’ influence in a sparkling campaign.

And while he was typically committed again, this was another great team effort.

And much of the credit for that goes to Watson – a Coach of the Year nominee.

The Red Devils established their grip on the game with two tries in the opening 14 minutes. The first was clear cut, display against the Tui Lolohea kicking smartly for Tyrone McCarthy to follow through and touch down.

The second was more debatable as Jake Bibby was adjudged to have got the ball down despite Greg Minikin’s desperate cover tackle.

It was a video referee decision that left Tigers coach Daryl Powell shaking his head.

Krisnan Inu added both conversions and a 30th minute penalty awarded for a ball steal to put his side 14-0 ahead at the break.

The home side were also indebted to one of the tackles of the season from full-back Niall Evalds, who tracked across field to drag a try-bound Jordan Rankin into touch.

After that Salford never really looked like losing. Their welldrilled, committed defence and superior kicking game limited the Tigers’ opportunities before Hastings fittingly had the final say.