Major blow for Red Devils as Junior sits out Saints tie
OLD BOY SMITH IS EXPECTING STICK ON RETURN TO SALFORD
SALFORD will be without star centre Junior Sa’u when they welcome St Helens to the AJ Bell Stadium tonight after the New Zealand international picked up an injury in last week’s win at Widnes.
The victory over the Vikings was the Red Devils’ fourth of the season and followed the superb 13-12 defeat of the otherwise unbeaten Castleford Tigers in the previous round of Betfred Super League fixtures.
It came at a cost, however, with Sa’u leaving the field during the 46-10 win with a leg injury. He has not sufficiently recovered to make tonight’s game, with Jake Bibby replacing him in the only change to Ian Watson’s 19-man squad.
Watson and his side will know the threat posed by the Saints, whose lastgasp victory at Catalans Dragons a fortnight ago appears to have kickstarted their season.
It was a former Red Devil in the shape of Theo Fages that produced a matchwinning performance on that day which included laying on the decisive try with a stunning offload - and the return of another ex-Salford playmaker, Matty Smith, was vital in last week’s win over Warrington.
Smith made the controversial switch back to his hometown club after fourand-a-half seasons with Wigan Warriors, but suffered a broken leg in his first pre-season friendly in the red vee.
However, it appeared Smith had never been away when he walked out at Langtree Park to face the beleaguered Wolves, steering his new employers around the field expertly and picking up the Man of the Match award.
In a spell spanning three seasons with the Red Devils prior to his move to Wigan, Smith played at both the Willows and the AJ Bell Stadium and is looking forward to facing his old employers.
“I enjoyed my time there,” he said. “I was allowed to be expansive. I played some pretty good stuff there and got signed by Wigan on the back of my performances playing for Salford.
“I had the chance to play at the Willows and the new ground as well. I always enjoy going back, even though I’ll get some stick off the fans.
“They’ve got some really good players and they’re attacking really well. It’s important we concentrate on our defence this week, I think our attack will look after itself.”
Saints will be further boosted by the return of full-back Jonny Lomax from injury. The England international featured in both the opening-day win over Leeds Rhinos and the subsequent defeat to Leigh Centurions, but has missed the last four matches through injury.