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Devil In The Detail SRD · Bank Holiday pop up podcast   It was a short turnaround for both clubs after Thursday evenings matches. Salford and Hull came into the match on the back of home defeats. The Airlie birds still had a chance of making the playoffs but couldn’t afford a slip up. Salford were playing for pride now and aiming to finish as high up the table as possible.  The weather threatened a shower and was slighter cooler than of late and a gentle breeze whipped around the stadium prior to kick off.  After a bruising encounter with Catalans on Thursday Salford had a few players needing some recovery time.  The two Tongan boys Tui Lolohea and Ata Hingano were the chosen halfback partnership with Chris Atkin moving to hooker to replace Andy Ackers. Joe Burgess returned on the wing. Ellis Robson came into the starting thirteen trading places with Ryan Lannon who started on the bench. Hull had Ben McNamara and Marc Sneyd in the halves with the evergreen Danny Houghton at hooker. Ja

Devil In The Detail SRD · Bank Holiday pop up podcast   It’s been another up and down season on the West side of Hull. Brett Hodgson came in as coach to replace Lee Radford and once again the club has invested quite heavily in player personnel. Inconsistent performances have hampered the Airlie Birds and with just four rounds of matches left to play they sit eighth place in the Super League table with eight wins from seventeen matches. After a thrilling Derby victory over cross city rivals Hull Kingston Rovers a defeat at home to Castleford followed. Both Hull clubs and the Tigers are fighting it out for a play off spot in the top six and it’s going to be a very tense finish to the season. Hull met Salford back in April at the start of the season and ran out comfortable winner’s 4-35. It’s been a difficult couple of weeks for Richard Marshall and his Salford side. Defeat to bottom club Leigh was followed by a loss to table toppers Catalans. The latter was a much better performance wit

Devil In The Detail SRD · Bit of soul searching as the Dragons of Catalan come to town   It was another fine and sunny evening at the AJ Bell Stadium as top of the Catalans arrived. As usual the pitch looked like a newly laid carpet. The Dragons were not far from full strength with Josh Drinkwater and James Maloney starting in the halves.  Salford coach Richard Marshall made changes to his starting line up after last weekends defeat at Leigh. Tui Lolohea and Chris Atkin replaced Kevin Brown and Ata Hingano at half back. Morgan Escare returned to the side at fullback.  James Greenwood was missing for the Red Devils but Sam Luckley, Oliver Roberts and Ellis Robson all made the bench. It would be a huge test of Salford’s resolve after playing Super League’s bottom club last time out and tonight facing one of the best sides in the League.  The Dragons enjoyed most of the field position in the opening stages of the game and they scored the first try. Maloney dropped his shoulder and laid a

Devil In The Detail SRD · Richard Marshall Pre match Press conference v Catalan Dragons As we approach the business end of the season Catalans are top of the Super League table. The Dragons have played some marvellous rugby this season with just two defeats in their eighteen matches. Head coach Steve McNamara has moulded his side into genuine title contenders and the clubs progress over the past few has been remarkable really. With a wealth of experience from over seas and a exciting crop of young French Players, Rugby League in Perpignan looks stronger than ever.  Salford were very disappointing last Sunday in defeat to Leigh. I don’t think it was the fact the team lost to the bottom of the table side, it was more the manner of the defeat and the inept performance Richard Marshall’s side put in that angered the supporters. The Centurions were much better in every department and thoroughly deserved their victory.  It doesn’t look like the matches postponed due to Covid will be replay

Devil In The Detail SRD · Huddersfield beaten, Watto not bothered and now its Derby day with Leigh   With four victories in their last seven matches Salford arrived at the Leigh Sports Village in confident mood. The Red Devils had every right to feel cautious though having lost on this ground on all five occasions in competitive games. Salford did win a pre season match here when the ground first opened but they’ve left empty handed since.  The Centurions had played some of their best rugby on home soil this season pushing Wigan, Catalans, Hull Kingston Rovers and St Helens close.  Salford coach Richard Marshall has now been able to start naming stronger squads week by week. After a thrilling win over Huddersfield last Friday that saw his side execute a perfect second half game plan the expectation was there for more of the same. Ata Hingano started in the halves with Kevin Brown, Ken Sio replaced Joe Burgess on the wing and Ryan Lannon returned to the squad in the bench.  Leigh gave

Devil In The Detail SRD · Richard Marshall pre match press conference v Leigh   These two clubs have shared some really memorable matches over the years. Back in the 2003 season they battled it out in some very fearsome and fiery contests including the Rail Cup final and the National League Grand Final. Who could forget the Challenge cup tie in 2001 at Hilton Park. Salford led 0-12 on a glue pot pitch but Leigh upset the odds with a tremendous comeback to win 16-12. The 2008 Easter Thursday game is one a lot of Salford supporters will remember. Not just for the victory but for the torrential rain that soaked us all but then suddenly stopped at the full time hooter. It’s been a struggle for Leigh this season who have yet to register a win in the Super League. They’ve come very close though particularly in home matches. Salford showed great fighting spirt to comeback and beat Huddersfield Giants last Friday. A fantastic second half with two well worked tries and a defence that worked ov

Devil In The Detail SRD · Lee Mossop retires and we go shopping in the NRL for 2022   It had been a week of big stories for Salford Red Devils and their supporters. The signing of halfback Brodie Croft from NRL side Brisbane Broncos is a significant statement for 2022 and a very exciting one. The news of Lee Mossop’s immediate retirement from Rugby League was hard to swallow. Lee has been a terrific professional in his time at Salford leading the team in some huge matches. On the Grand Final run back in 2019 for me he was up there with the best props in the country. I don’t think Lee’s shoulder problems are a new thing and it just shows the determination of him to play through that pain barrier for so long.  Huddersfield Giants were the visitors this week and when the two sides met in June Salford won a real thrilling match 8-9.  With Ian Watson returning for the first time to the AJ Bell Stadium this would add plenty of spice to the fixture. Rugby League is a sport that can’t just b

Devil In The Detail SRD · Lee Mossop retires and we go shopping in the NRL for 2022   When these two sides met in June they served up a match full of action and talking points. Salford came up with a great result against the odds after having Jame Greenwood sent off. We know now that the sending off was a case of mistaken identity but still Richard Marshall’s side showed an incredible amount of resilience to win the match.  After a disappointing start to the season Ian Watson is beginning to make his mark with the Giants but they are still a way off where they are expected to be.  In his time at Salford Watson worked wonders under limited resources. The club achieved plenty of respect and admiration. Players came in without much fuss or fanfare but they moulded into a team that could compete. The 2019 season is one the supporters will never forget. Last year a few matches into the season the game was put on hold due to the state of the nation under the pandemic. Salford reached Wembl

Devil In The Detail SRD · Abracadabra its your Devil in the detail podcast   It was a really grey and wet day leading up to kick off. The pitch looked fairly greasing and a good kicking game would most certainly be the key to victory as Wigan hosted Salford.  The Red Devils last match was a fortnight ago when they met Leeds at Headingley. Wigan came into the match on the back of a thumping win over Leigh Centurions. The Warriors had lost Brad Singleton and Oliver Partington through suspension after a bad tempered clash with local rivals Leigh last Sunday.  Salford coach Richard Marshall made changes to his side. Dan Sarginson returned to play in the centres. Joe Burgess started on the wing and Danny Addy started at loose forward. Salford spurned an early chance to kick for goal from a penalty before Wigan applied the pressure. The Warriors scored the first points of the match when Willie Isa fed young winger Sam Halsall who finished well in the corner.  The Red Devils struck back wit

Devil In The Detail SRD · Abracadabra its your Devil in the detail podcast   For supporters of my generation who grew up watching Salford in the 1980s and 90s, this fixture saw a fair amount of torment and one sided matches. Then Wigan said goodbye to Central Park and moved to their new stadium. The results didn’t improve and through the early 2000s Salford were thumped there on a regular basis. It seemed a morale victory to keep the score under forty points.  In 2017 Salford came up with an excellent win beating Wigan 16-31. That result along with a 14-21 victory at Central Park in 1997 were are only victories since 1979 in a Wigan away fixture. That’s what made the playoff match of 2019 that little bit sweeter. You can read about that in the Match to Remember a bit further down.  Since 2019 a lot has happened at both clubs, Jake Bibby and Jackson Hastings were both favourites at Salford and now are first team regulars with the Warriors. This season has been a bit up and down for Ad