Salford Red Devils travel to the Halliwell Jones Stadium on tomorrow evening to take on Warrington Wolves in Rivals Round of the Betfred Super League.
The Red Devils have had a long break since their last game away at Wakefield, so the team will be raring to go and kickstart a hectic Easter period with a win against their rivals.
Paul Rowley’s side sit 9th in the Betfred Super League but have endured the same early-season form as their opponents. After seven games under new boss Daryl Powell, the Wire have won three and lost four of their opening games.
With Catalan Dragons visiting the The Salford Stadium next Monday, there’s a short turnaround for the players to regain fitness from an intense battle against Warrington and go again to face such a high-quality outfit.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Paul Rowley says the schedule has factored into his thinking, but believes the team will be taking it one game at a time.
Rowley said: “Take every game as it comes. But I think in terms of preparation and planning your weeks, we’re well on top of that and we’re talking as staff all the time about looking after the players the best we can and not leaving any stone unturned in terms of preparation.
“So, one eye on it in terms of what we do as staff, but we don’t really discuss much else apart from the task ahead when talking about games.”
Salford are still without a recognised back-rower for Thursday’s game with Shane Wright and James Greenwood’s long-term injuries, but will welcome Joe Burgess back into the fold after a knee problem kept him sidelined against Wakefield.
Moving on to look directly at the game against Warrington, Rowley was discussing how he prepares his side for games against such a high calibre of opposition, despite the Wire’s poor run of form.
The head coach stated: “Always do that (prepare to face a team at their best), and then a team under pressure, you’d like to think you could add pressure when you play as well.
“So, getting off to a good start always helps when a team is under pressure and certainly a team with so much expectation and resource as Warrington. In an ideal world, we’ll add to that pressure and reap the rewards, but it is a lot easier said than done.”
Salford will be looking to replicate their second-half performance against Wakefield almost a fortnight ago when they take on Daryl Powell’s side and show the potent talent they possess in attack.
Written by: Harry Siddall
