Salford one more win from safety
SALFORD boss Ian Watson insists his side will not be taking anything for granted despite making it four wins from four in The Qualifiers with a 28-16 home victory over Toronto Wolfpack.
It was a win marred by red cards for Luke Burgess and Jackson Hastings, who may now miss the clash with Leeds Rhinos on Friday, victory in which would see the Red Devils guarantee their place in Betfred Super League next season.
“History has proven over the three or four years of the Eights that 10 points gets you into third position,” said Watson. “The Million Pound Game has always been between teams with eight or six points, something like that.
“Our thing is to make sure we get another win, we’re focusing on Leeds.”
But the loss of Burgess - who saw red for a high tackle on Jake Emmitt, and, more crucially, Hastings, will be a blow to Salford.
The Australian was sent off in the final seconds for a dangerous tackle.
“I’ll have to have a little look at it again, but we’ll see what the Match Review Panel come back with. I was surprised he got a straight red for it, I thought it might have been a sin-binning for contact to the head,” said Watson
“Jackson has been pivotal to our spine and controlling games.”
Salford had opened the scoring inside the first five minutes through Ed Chamberlain, capitalising on some unexpected possession after Gareth O’Brien spilled a chip over the top from Hastings.
Soon after, Salford’s Lama Tasi was sent to the sin-bin for a high hit on the former Red Devils fullback, but the home side extended their lead despite the numerical disadvantage, Robert Lui crossing in the corner before Chamberlain slotted a penalty.
And just before the half-time break, Salford scored what will surely be their try of the season, gambling on the last tackle and running the ball from inside their own half in a move that involved Lui three times, as well as Niall Evalds, Kris Welham and George Griffin, before Hastings touched down under the posts.
That gave the Red Devils a 20-0 lead, but the roles were reversed in the second period, with Watson’s side making errors in possession and allowing the Wolfpack to breach their line with relative ease.
Adam Sidlow barged over by the sticks and Matty Russell slid over in the corner, before Burgess was sent off. Toronto then reduced the deficit to just four points through Andy Ackers.
However, Chase Stanley was sent to the sin-bin just after the break for a dangerous tackle on Junior Sa’u and Salford utilised the temporary parity in numbers to extend their lead through Ryan Lannon. A Chamberlain penalty from 45 metres sealed the victory, but there was still time for Hastings to be shown a red card for the hit on O’Brien.
LF