Red Devils’ season in balance as they take on Wakefield
LAST week’s international break was the final blank in the Betfred Super League calendar between now and the end of the regular season. And with 12 rounds of action remaining, it’s a campaign that could yet go either way for Salford.
The Red Devils are two wins outside of the play-off places and three victories above bottom side Toulouse.
Wakefield, tomorrow’s visitors to the AJ Bell Stadium, have an identical win-loss ratio and the fixture could be crucial to determining how each side’s season pans out.
That’s something Salford coach Paul Rowley is not shying away from ahead of the contest.
“I won’t go down the track of saying this is just another game,” he said. “It’s a big game and I think we all realise that.
“The opportunities are still there for us to progress, but the detriment, deficit and jeopardy are still there for both teams. It’s got all the ingredients to be a pretty good game.
“Ultimately what we need is a Salford crowd supporting us and winning us a few decisions as well - we go away and we get some tough ones, but we want to win the 50-50s and I think it’s the noise from the supporters that will help to encourage any 50-50s to be given our way.”
When the two sides met in
April, Trinity edged a narrow contest 30-24 and Rowley wants the Red Devils to restrict their opponents’ scoring opportunities first and foremost.
He said: “We played Wakefield at their place and, in the first half, our defence was poor, particularly on transition. We’ve got to be better defensively.
“They are a team that scores lots of points and Mason Lino is particularly good for them.
“If we concentrate on our defence, we’ll get opportunities to score lots of points ourselves, so what we do defensively will be key.”
Rowley has been able to name only a 19-man squad for the fixture, with Morgan Escare the latest Red Devil to be ruled out for the remainder of the season.
He picked up a broken thumb in France’s 34-10 victory over a Wales side that included teammate Rhys Williams, who became his country’s most capped men’s international taking the record from former Salford coach Ian Watson.
The Red Devils were also represented in the England versus the Combined Nations All-Stars tie with Kallum Watkins, Brodie Croft and Ken
Sio all taking part. And, despite Escare’s injury, Rowley is proud his club continues to get behind the international game.
“It’s good that the club promotes and supports the international weekend,” said the former Toronto Wolfpack coach.
“We can’t control what other clubs do but our stance is that, for a player, you want to play at the highest level you can possibly do, so to get five boys involved in the international weekend is satisfying for us as a group and the players involved as well.”