Head coach Richard Marshall is relishing the chance to play Castleford Tigers this Friday at the A.J Bell Stadium.
The Red Devils got their first Betfred Super League win over Leigh Centurions last Friday, but Marshall is now focused on building momentum and consistency.
“A win raises everybody’s spirit but then expectations are lifted as well,” said Marshall.
“We want to be able to back up our performances and build on our efforts. We know the challenge is going to be difficult against Castleford but we’re at home, and we want to build on our home form as well.”
Castleford, who recently appointed Lee Radford as head coach for the 2022 Betfred Super League season, have started the season strongly.
The Tigers sit 4th in the Betfred Super League, winning three out of their first four league games this season.
Castleford’s attack has been particularly impressive, boasting the most tries scored so far this season. Marshall knows his defence will be have to be on top form.
Marshall said: “That would be the main challenge this week.”
“Castleford are a very good attacking team. They’ve got some flair and skills on the edges. Are we able to compete and go against them? Yes, we are.”
🗣️ "We just have to make sure that we're nailed on with our concentration."
📽️ The pre-match press conference with Richard Marshall ahead of Round 5, is now on RDTV.
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— Salford Red Devils 👹 (@SalfordDevils) April 27, 2021
Marshall is faced with another selection headache with Matt Costello unavailable and Elijah Taylor still ruled out, but there will be a return to the squad in the shape of Kallum Watkins.
It will also be the first of back-to-back contests with Castleford Tigers, with both teams meeting again in next week’s Betfred Challenge Cup Quarter-Finals. But that won’t have too much bearing on Friday’s game according to Marshall.
“You know a lot more about the opposition but at the level we coach at you watch 3-4 games of opposition every week before a game,” Marshall added.
“It’s a double-edge sword really, they find a little more about you and you find a little more about them. But we’re not a team that wants to change too much. We want to find our own style. Castleford have been working as a team for a long time. They do things in certain ways and there very, very effective, so our defence has to be on this week.”
“A cup game is completely different though. A cup game is a one-off, it’s knockout and it’s a Quarter-Final so we’ll look forward to that but hopefully win this one first and build some momentum into that game.”
Subscribe to RDTV to hear everything Richard Marshall had to say ahead of Round 5.
Image credit: Steve McCormick
Written by: Callum Williams
