Salford Red Devils travel to the Totally Wicked Stadium to face St Helens in Round 11 of the Betfred Super League on Friday night.
A relentless Easter schedule ends against the league leaders, who have won eight and lost only two of their opening 10 fixtures. However, last week, a youthful-looking Saints side lost 30-10 to the Castleford Tigers.
The Red Devils are fresh from a heartbreaking loss to the Wigan Warriors on Sunday afternoon. After being 24-12 down at half-time, Paul Rowley’s side battled back to level the scores, but were a victim of a late Jai Field wonder-try.
Despite the defeat, there was plenty for Salford to be optimistic about regarding the performance. Ryan Brierley and Brodie Croft were the standouts, with the pair receiving Man of Steel points for their individual displays.
Attention will now turn to Friday’s clash, with assistant coach Danny Orr speaking to the press ahead of the game on a variety of topics. But first, he reflected on the game against Wigan and what confidence the team can take from it.
Orr said: “I think it’s got to do really (give the team confidence). I think the lads worked hard and the good thing is – I know Wigan could have been better – but so could we, there is improvement in us.
“As you say, every team will do the same, but you take the positives out of it, you maintain that standard and look to get better week in, week out, so if you keep doing that at some point the wins are going to come.”
Moving on to preview Friday’s game, Orr was asked what it takes to beat the side flying high in the Betfred Super League.
Eight-time winners of the competition, St Helens know what it takes to win the top prizes and will be looking to get their hands on the prestigious trophy once again this season.
Orr continued: “We’ve got to be outstanding. As a team, as individuals, we’ve got to be on top of our game and absolutely nail a performance for 80 minutes. I think we’ve performed well in all the games this year, but in small patches.
“I think last week was probably a 60/70-minute performance, we need to put in an 80-minute performance together and if we do that, we stand a chance.”
Salford were massive underdogs for the game against Wigan, but showed they can mix it with the very best. So, against St Helens, Rowley will be hoping his side can produce a similar level of performance against some world-class opposition.
Written by: Harry Siddall
Image credit: Steve McCormick
