Coach admits Reds were taught lesson
SALFORD coach Ian Watson admitted his side were taught a lesson by Leeds after they crashed to their biggest defeat of the season.
The Rhinos ran in nine tries to four in a 50-24 victory at the AJ Bell Stadium yesterday to leapfrog their hosts into second place in the Betfred Super League.
“I thought Leeds played really well straight from the kick-off and taught us a lesson on how you play a top-ofthe-table clash,” Watson said.
“It’s a lesson we need to learn. We were not happy with the way we started the game. To say we were off is a massive understatement.
“We are normally a group that work really hard for each other but in the first half we our attitude was off.
“Leeds got on the front foot and played too fast for us. If you can’t control the speed of the ruck, you are in for a long day and we were constantly on the back foot.”
Salford, who were without loose forward Mark Flanagan and hooker Logan Tomkins through injury, conceded seven tries before half-time, three of them while centre Junior Sa’u was in the sin bin for a high tackle on Leeds centre Kallum Watkins.
They rallied after the break and strong-running second rower Ben Murdoch-Masila touched down twice to take his try tally for the season to 13 but it was too little, too late, and Watson is hoping his side can quickly bounce back as they prepare to face leaders Castleford in their next match on Friday.
“That’s another top-end-of-thetable clash for us,” Watson said. “As a group, we always learn from our previous games and hopefully we can do that.”
Leeds were boosted by the return from suspension of veteran skipper and half-back Danny McGuire and he was pivotal as the visitors made a dream start, with winger Tom Briscoe scoring two tries as they established an 36-6 interval lead.
“Salford are not in a false position, we knew they are a good team, and sometimes you have got to fear the opposition to bring out the best in you. We were on our guard,” said Rhinos coach Brian McDermott.
“I don’t have much of an issue with the second half because it was more about Salford switching on and being good than us dropping off.
“It was the first dry track we’ve been on for a while and I think that played a part. Offensively, that’s as good as we’ve been for a long time.” Meanwhile, Salford are examining Sky footage of referee James Child ducking to avoid a drink being hurled at him as he walked down the tunnel at the end of the game.