BRODIE CROFT says a great friendship with Ryan Brierley off the field is translating into a great partnership on it.
The stand-off and reigning Man of Steel had assisted tries for Brierley in three of Salford Red Devils’ previous four matches ahead of Sunday’s crucial golden-point victory over fellow Super League play-off chasers Warrington Wolves.
“He’s one of my best mates here at the club,” Croft told League Express.
“We like spending time with each other off the field and I think that correlates to how we play on the field.
“We’re both footy nerds, I guess you could call us. We like to dissect Rugby League and how you can best manipulate oppositions. It does look nice when one of those plays comes off.
“I love playing with him. He helps me be a better player, not only with how he plays but his talk on the field. He’s a really calm, collected guy out there.
“He helps me a lot with my decision-making and how I play the game. I feel like we bounce off each other really well.”
Salford face another huge clash with a direct top-six rival this Saturday when they visit Hull KR.
A six-match losing run in Super League at the height of summer left them playing catch-up but it is not an unfamiliar position to the Red Devils, who made the play-off semi-finals last term despite being eleventh in late May.
“Last year the last ten or twelve games we played were like play-off games every week, just to get to the play-offs,” said Aussie Croft.
“We really thrived doing that so we’ve got experience there in big games, and in tight contests – we’ve had a fair few of them this year and sometimes we’ve been on the good side of the scoreboard and sometimes the bad.
“Even in that patch when we weren’t going so well, three of those games were lost by three points or less. We were there or thereabouts and we’ve certainly learned from those. I feel like we’re in a great spot.”
Meanwhile, prop King Vuniyayawa has signed a new contract with Salford until the end of 2025.
Vuniyayawa has missed only one game this year – away at Catalans Dragons due to a travel issue – after the club successfully overturned two separate one-match bans last week.
“It’s a massive privilege to be signing with this club and doing what I love,” said the 28-year-old Fiji international, who joined Salford ahead of the 2022 season from Leeds Rhinos.
“I’m very thankful for that and look forward to building this club up to get what they deserve – winning trophies.”
