Saints dish out punishment to Devils
SALFORD RED DEVILS 10 ST HELENS 60
SALFORD’S winning run came to a shuddering end in the most brutal of fashions as they were hammered by Super League leaders St Helens.
Saints even overcame the dismissal of forward Matty Lees at the AJ Bell Stadium to run in 11 tries.
But their victory was overshadowed by a neck injury to star man Ben Barba who, having scored a hat-trick, fell awkwardly in a tackle eight minutes from the end and was stretchered off.
Barba is a clear favourite for the Man of Steel award after dominating the first half of the season and was again in sparkling form against a disappointing Salford side.
Lees was sent off for a high tackle on Red Devils’ full-back Niall Evalds three minutes before half-time. But Saints were already 28-6 in front by then, and scored another six tries after that.
Salford – who went into the game on the back of victories over Huddersfield and Wakefield – drafted in Jake Shorrocks, their loan signing from Wigan, in place of injured stand-off Robert Lui but he ended up playing the second half out of position at full-back after Evalds’ premature departure for concussion.
Salford’s only bright spots came on 27 minutes – when loose forward Tyrone McCarthy crashed over for a try from Logan Tomkins’ pass from dummy half and Shorrocks added the goal – and just before the end when centre Kris Welham scored.