Marshall shuffles his pack ahead of cup showdown
Sent WE NEED TO FIND GROOVE – SALFORD BOSS
MORGAN ESCARE is unlikely to be the only debutant as Salford take on Widnes in the third round of the Challenge Cup this lunchtime.
The former Wigan and Catalans fullback will come into the team for the first time as a result of an injury to Dan Sarginson, but Darcy Lussick, Matt Costello and Sam Luckley have also been named in Richard Marshall’s 21-man squad for the fixture.
“We’ve got to get the balance right,” said the Red Devils boss. “Obviously, we want to win this game and progress in the Challenge Cup, so we’re going to treat the tie and Widnes with all the respect the competition deserves.
“We have got some players that probably do need to play at some points – we haven’t looked at the full squad.
“There’s a handful who haven’t played for whatever reason, they’ve either not been fit or not selected.
“But at the same time, we do need to find our way, find our groove and find our rhythm and combinations.”
With Kevin Brown sitting out the tie against his former side through suspension, there will be a shake-up in the Salford halves, but Marshall is particularly excited to see what Escare can bring to the team at fullback.
He said: “Your fullback has got to be a really good communicator, organise numbers and carry the ball and Dan had that position. Obviously, we’ll look at Morgan now and he’s been champing at the bit.
“I thought he did really well [in the pre-season friendly] against Wigan, there were just a couple of things in his game. But at the same time, he’s a quality player. He’s electric and he’ll offer us something different to Dan.
“Morgan’s been working really hard and I’ve been really impressed with him even though he’s not been playing.
“He offers us a little bit of a different threat as well – he’s got a kicking game, he’s very, very elusive and Morgan will be hard to handle, his agility and speed are fantastic.
“Dan will be three to four weeks probably, so Morgan knows if he plays well he’s got an opportunity to keep that shirt.”
In the absence of Brown, Dec Patton is expected to partner Tui Lolohea in the halves, but Marshall was keen to stress he has a number of options in the playmaking roles.
Chris Atkin has yet to make an appearance this season and could take Patton’s bench utility role if the former Warrington man does start, while Harvey Livett could also slot in if required and Danny Addy would provide another option, but will sit out this contest as he continues to recover from a hip knock.
Widnes will be without Logan Tomkins through injury, but there are other former Red Devils in Simon Finnigan’s squad, including a potential Vikings debut for prop forward Lee Jewitt.
SALFORD: Escare, Sio, Watkins, Inu, Lolohea, Mossop, Ackers, Ikahihifo, Pauli, Roberts, Johnson, Atkin, Kear, Livett, Williams, Costello, Ormondroyd, Wells, Luckley, Lussick, Patton.
WIDNES: Owens, Spedding, Tyrer, Cross, Craven, Smith, Clough, Grady, Lawton, Jewitt, Dwyer, Lyons, Roby, Edge, Buckley, Wilde, Else, Tilleke, Hill, Brookes.