Salford are ravaged by injuries for clash with Warriors!
PAUL Rowley’s 21-man squad for tonight’s visit of Challenge Cup winners Wigan contains injured players that he simply cannot select.
The Salford coach revealed Ryan Lannon requires surgery on the hand injury he picked up in last week’s defeat at Hull KR that will see him added to the long-term absentee list.
Rowley already has one of the smallest squads in Super League to call upon and admitted that while he’ll be able to put out a 17-man playing group for the clash against the Warriors, he did not have 21 fit bodies to name for the fixture.
He said: “We’ve only trained once this week, but we’ve picked up a couple of injuries.
“Ryan Lannon is gone now, he’ll need an operation on his hand, so he’s a long-termer. And then we picked up another, but I’ll not say who that is.
“We’ve got a couple of injured bodies named in our squad who we can’t select, but for the sake of looking like we’ve got a sizable group, we’ve thrown them in as a name.
“Our 21 is not all fit and ready to go, I’ll assure you of that.”
Despite the growing casualty list, Rowley has been impressed with the attitude shown by his players – particularly those who know the competition for their spot in the side is limited because of the injury situation.
“We’re on bare-bones, but we’re very, very fortunate in that although we’ve got a small squad and injuries, I don’t think I’ve ever seen any complacency within our group.
“They know the coach has limited options in certain situations because of the numbers of personnel, but I don’t think that’s ever affected our enthusiasm, our desire or our honesty as a group.
“That’s a testament to the players and I’m always full of praise for them because I think they fully deserve it.”
One man who is fit to feature is half-back Marc Sneyd, who could move above former Salford coach Iestyn Harris in the table of all-time Super League point scorers. But it is a very different metric by which Rowley is measuring the playmaker’s prowess.
“For me, there are better stats,” said the ex-Leigh and Toronto boss. “He’s having to play differently because he’s always played behind a massive Hull pack and played patient, waited for a quick ruck and an opportunity.
“His involvements now are far higher, his line engagements are far higher and his defence is fantastic.
“If I’d said ‘we’ve signed Marc Sneyd and he’ll have the most line engagements and some of the best defence as a pivot in Super League’ at the start of the year, you’d have thought I was crazy, but they’re the facts.
“They’re the stats and I’m more interested in those, the points will come off the back of the wider performance.”
We’ve picked up a couple of injuries. Our 21 is not all fit and ready to go, I’ll assure you of that Paul Rowley