Salford skipper Lee is ready for a run out
SALFORD skipper Lee Mossop is in line to make his first appearance of pre-season when the club take on Warrington in Mike Cooper’s testimonial match at the Halliwell Jones Stadium this evening.
The former England international forward has sat out the club’s opening two warm-up victories over Swinton and Leigh, but will look to build up some match sharpness against the Wolves – ahead of the Red Devils’ season opener away at St Helens next
Friday in a repeat of the Grand Final.
Young hooker Connor Aspey is also included in the travelling group for the fixture, having joined up with the squad in Spain last week following an appearance for Valencia Huracanes in their inaugural match against Featherstone.
Tonight’s friendly sees Kevin Brown make an early return to the Halliwell Jones after spending the previous three seasons with the Wolves.
“I feel really fortunate to be able to celebrate that for Mike,” said Brown. “He’s a real good guy and he deserves the testimonial.
“It will be good to be involved and it will be good to see where we’re at. It will be a bit strange playing against some of my old team-mates, but I’ve done that quite a few times over my career so I’m used to it now!”
Apart from three games on loan at Leigh in September to prove his fitness, Brown missed the entire 2019 season with an Achilles injury but is fit and raring to go for the Red Devils.
Despite his longevity in the game, the 35-year-old is confident he can produce and be an effective part of another successful season for the club.
“I can’t do some of the things I used to do when I was 22, but I can do a lot more things that I couldn’t do then,” said Brown.
“If I can make everyone feel comfortable, put them in position and everyone has 100 per cent clarity that they know what they’re doing, then it goes an awful long way to the attack functioning a lot better.
“That’s primarily my role, to feed some of these outside backs and we’ve got some real big forwards that need moving around.
“I couldn’t be happier with my teammates – there’s competition and a bit of depth. If you were being ultra-picky, you’d probably want a few more kids coming through, but in terms of the first-team squad, I’m more than happy with that.”
Warrington coach Steve Price has named a strong 21-man squad for tonight’s clash, with ex-Swinton winger Matty Ashton and former Salford stars Stefan Ratchford and Ben Murdoch-Masila in line to feature.
Gareth Widdop will miss out through injury, so Declan Patton is likely to start alongside Blake Austin in the halves for Wire.