Saints maintain a genuine interest in a top two spot after this come from behind victory over the Red Devils.
Paul Wellens’ side remain fourth in the Super League standings but are within two points of both Wigan and Leigh above them. Victory in the long awaited game in hand at home to Huddersfield next week will see the champions pull level with the WN duo, and also lift them to within four points of Catalans Dragons at the top. The League Leaders Shield looks a long shot but just to be in the conversation is an achievement in what has been an injury hit season under a rookie Head Coach trying to implement his own ideas.
For their part Salford’s objective is to break into the six. Letting a 15-2 lead slip in this one won’t have helped but Paul Rowley’s side are still in a reasonable position. They lie seventh, just two points behind both fifth placed Warrington and sixth placed Hull KR, albeit with an inferior points difference for now. Red Devils fans can take a lot of encouragement from the fact that Wire are in total meltdown while Rovers currently have minds fixed firmly on their Wembley date with Leigh.
Wellens welcomed a couple of his big name players back to the line-up. Mark Percival was restored to the centres, which was particularly timely given the news this week that Konrad Hurrell will be out for a month with a calf injury. Not only that, but Will Hopoate’s run of six consecutive starts came to an end as he reverted to being the injury prone player who only managed 22 appearances in two seasons before that recent run. With the Tongan pair out Ben Davies came into the starting line-up for the first time since the Challenge Cup win at Halifax in May. He had been a non-playing substitute in the last two.
Curtis Sironen was also involved for the first time since the heavy defeat at Hull FC in June. The former Manly second rower was introduced off the bench despite the fact that Joe Batchelor remains unavailable and Sione Mata’utia was serving the second of a two-game suspension. That meant that Sam Royle continued - earning his fifth start of 2023 - alongside James Bell.
The big plus for Salford was the return of Marc Sneyd at halfback. The former Hull FC man missed last week’s 42-0 towelling by the Dragons in Perpignan but renewed acquaintances with halfback partner Brodie Croft for this one. Also returning after missing out in France was Samoan international centre Tim Lafai. In the forwards ex-Leeds and Wigan man Brad Singleton made a debut start at prop alongside former Warriors team-mate Oliver Partington. Danny Addy was another one absent across the channel but returning here.
The post-game headlines have been dominated by an outstandingly paranoid rant from Rowley about referees in general but in particular Jack Smith. Rowley labelled the whistle blower a ‘disgrace’ and claimed that in the last three home games his side had been ‘absolutely let down’ by the officials.
All of which makes him sound like the legions of social media fans who cannot tolerate the idea that their team may have been in some way responsible for their own defeat. An outburst like Rowley’s speaks to a coach under a great deal of pressure and one running out of ideas on how to arrest what is now a seven game losing streak in all competitions. There is higher expectation at Salford these days and it just might be getting to Rowley.
Which is not an excuse. Coaches can disagree with referees’ decisions as they see fit but in using this type of language Rowley brings unwanted negativity to the sport. Without referees we wouldn’t have a game. A more respectful approach might have been advisable.
Possibly to make him feel better the authorities have referred both Rowley and Wellens to the compliance board for recent comments about officialdom. The Saints boss accused the Match Review Panel (MRP) of having failed to protect players in the wake of the Challenge Cup semi-final in which Alex Walmsley and Agnatius Paasi sustained season ending injuries at the hands - or should that be shoulders - of John Asiata. There is probably a very good reason why Wellens’ charge has taken two weeks while Rowley’s has been confirmed within a couple of days of his alleged offence. But at face value it just looks like they’ve charged Wellens to make Rowley feel like he’s not being singled out.
Wellens may feel he has reason to direct more ire at the MRP this week after the suspension of Bell. The former Leigh man has picked up a one match ban for a late hit on Croft. It wasn’t the most violent offence you’ve ever seen but it was the kind of indiscipline which has been rife among Saints back rowers in recent times. Mata’utia is a repeat offender, as is Sironen. It means Bell will miss the crucial home meeting with Huddersfield on Sunday (August 13) which may go some way to determining whether a top two finish remains realistic. Handily, Mata’utia will be free from suspension and may just slot back in. If Batchelor isn’t fit to return then Royle is likely to keep his place because Sironen suffered another hamstring setback which has ended his August.
It was a display of Salford indiscipline which helped Saints get back into the game. Wellens’ side had trailed 15-2 at half-time thanks to tries from Kallum Watkins and Ryan Brierley along with seven points from the boot of Sneyd. An early Percival penalty had given Saints the lead but those were the only points they could muster in the first 40 minutes.
Eight minutes into the second half they were given a leg up by the yellow card handed to Deon Cross. The centre was guilty of obstructing Lomax as the pair pursued Dodd’s low kick towards the Salford line.
Five minutes later Saints were in for their first try. There was an element of fortune about how the ball found its way to Matty Lees just a couple of metres out but it didn’t seem illegal. Morgan Knowles attempted a pass close to the Red Devils line just as he was hit by Sneyd. The pass appeared to go backwards and ricochet off Sneyd into Lees’ arms. He accepted the gift and with Percival enjoying the luxury of an easy conversion in front of the posts the world champions were back in it at 15-8.
It was enlightening to see Percival resuming the goal-kicking duties. Tommy Makinson struggled a little bit in last week’s win over Leeds and eventually handed the job back to Lewis Dodd. Those expecting the halfback to continue in the role were left disappointed, but it’s tough to criticise the decision to take responsibility away from Dodd again when Percival ultimately landed three out of four.
Lees’ try came at the end of a decent spell of pressure near the Salford line which included an incident which did most to fuel the Rowley rant. It certainly appeared that Tee Ritson had put a foot in touch as he tried to get around the outside of Ken Sio. The touch judge was right there and should have spotted it.
I think we’ve all agreed for a long time that it is folly to have video reviews available at TV games and not others. Yet this one would not have been called back by the video referee as it did not happen on the same tackle as the Lees try. Thankfully the days when we went back five or even six tackles to find reasons to disallow tries are long gone. Rowley has a right to be miffed that the official made a poor call, but the Salford coach may also reflect that his side had several opportunities thereafter to avoid conceding.
It cannot have been all Smith’s fault that Saints were starting to be dominant. We have seen this happen too many times over the last four title winning years. Around the hour mark Brierley had to come up with a last gasp intervention to stop Makinson. Yet it was a mere delay. The winger got over for his 11th try of the season and his 181st in Saints colours when Jack Welsby’s quick thinking at the play-the-ball saw Moses Mbye, James Roby, Jonny Lomax and Bell combine to create the space. Percival’s conversion from the sideline was his most impressive of the day. If he can do that consistently Saints won’t have a problem. Meanwhile Salford’s problems were mounting with their 13-point lead cut to just one and all the action now seemingly in their half of the field.
It was Welsby’s quick feet rather than his quick mind which helped complete the comeback. On Saints next raid the fullback received the ball from Mbye 30 metres out. Putting the foot down, Welsby got on the outside of Sneyd and had the speed to get to the right hand corner before the defensive cover.
Welsby just keeps delivering. While rival clubs’ fans mutter darkly about how ‘he’s not that good, you know’, he continues to pull off these minor miracles. In an often stunted attack he is the one player from whom you expect to see something outrageous. Sometimes it may look as though he doesn’t quite know where he is going as he crabs across the defensive line this way and that. And though it doesn’t always look fluent it works often enough. The only potential issue is what Saints might do if anything were to keep him out of action. Perhaps then we’d see Wellens take the handbrake off of Dodd and Lomax. I’d prefer not to have to find out.
Percival could not convert that Welsby effort but even with a narrow three-point lead Saints looked fairly secure in the final few minutes. Salford’s biggest chance fizzled out when Joe Burgess failed to hold on to Sneyd’s long ball when catching it might have given the winger space to stretch his legs and create havoc. Yet it was Saints who actually came closest to scoring when Davies gathered Dodd’s high ball ahead of Sio but was ruled to have knocked on before getting over the line.
Ever since the loss of Walmsley and Paasi and with others coming in and out of the side as fitness allows it has been apparent that Saints would need to find different ways to win. They have been doing that so far, though two games is a small sample size. Yet it is a testament to their resilience and quality that they are still firmly in the mix.
The stats aren’t startling which perhaps owes much to the contrast between Saints’ first and second half performances. Welsby and Makinson were Saints’ top ground gainers with 146 metres apiece, while Davies and Ritson added 112 and 111 respectively. In the forwards Lees continued to shoulder the burden with 102, although Delaney stood out too. He came within a couple of metres of his first 100-metre game with 98. Once he gets his first you’d expect there to be many more.
For the Red Devils only Sio and Cross managed to pass 100. Sio was the game’s top metre maker with 182 while Cross had 122. Yet the latter might reflect that his breach of discipline was the act which had the biggest influence on the result. Just don’t try and argue that point with Rowley.
Knowles topped the Saints tackle count with 30. Meanwhile the home side had only Sam Stone (31) and Andy Ackers (30) called upon to make significant defensive contributions.
Thoughts now turn to that visit from Huddersfield Giants. The 5.00pm kick-off time may not please those looking forward to the first Premier League games of the new season but it will at least give those heading to Wembley to support the women’s team in their Challenge Cup final clash with Leeds enough time to get back and attend the men’s game.
The stakes are high as the jockeying for position continues and the games start to run out. Ian Watson’s side are suddenly in great form having won their last four, including a shock success in Perpignan against the Dragons. This isn’t the same team which lost 54-0 to Leeds less than seven weeks ago.
Salford: Brierley, Sio, Cross, Lafai, Burgess, Croft, Sneyd, Singleton, Ackers, Partington, Watkins, Stone, Addy. Interchanges: Atkin, Hellewell, Vuniyayawa, Ormondroyd
Saints: Welsby, Makinson, Percival, Davies, Ritson, Lomax, Dodd, Delaney, Roby, Lees, Royle, Bell, Knowles. Interchanges: Mbye, Norman, Sironen, Baxter
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