Devils want crowd in good voice for crunch cup game
IAN Watson is hoping Salford fans will turn up in big numbers for tonight’s Challenge Cup quarterfinal with Wakefield – and help their side move one step closer to a day out at Wembley.
The two sides met at the AJ Bell Stadium less than two weeks ago, when former Red Devil Mason Caton-Brown scored a hat-trick as Trinity withstood a second-half comeback from the home side to prevail.
Just 2,678 spectators were in attendance when Salford hosted Challenge Cup holders Hull FC last weekend, with fans concerned by suggestions the club could re-brand and take a Manchester name in order to boost its commercial capabilities and potentially attract additional supporters.
The club have moved to dampen this speculation, but former Red Devil Robbie Hunter-Paul has been tasked with leading a consultation process designed to help ‘identify key areas for the club going forward in order for us to reach our ambitions of being one of the dominant forces in British rugby league.’
This week the club has distributed a number of free tickets to local schools and sent vehicles with electronic billboards around the streets to advertise tonight’s fixture. Watson hopes numbers will be up and fans will be in full voice when the two sides clash.
“Hopefully tonight a lot more spectators will come down and really out-sing the Wakefield supporters and drive us to that semi-final,” he said.
“It would be great for the club and the community to be in the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup.”
Watson has made just one change to the 19-man squad defeated by Hull last week, with Mark Flanagan returning and taking the place of Daniel Murray.
“This is as big as it gets,” said the former St Helens forward, who played at scrum-half when Saints won the 2014 Grand Final at Old Trafford. “Salford haven’t been in many semi-finals of late, so if we get the result this week we’ll be there, and then just one game away from Wembley. “We’re confident, but we’re not underestimating Wakey by any stretch of the imagination – they’ve beaten us twice this year.” Trinity have endured something of an injury crisis in recent weeks, losing influential players such as Jacob Miller and Tinirau Arona to long-term injuries, as well as new signing Adam Walker, who has yet to play for the club. Chris Chester’s side will also be without inspirational forward David Fifita and James Batchelor because of knocks.