Fri 22nd Sept: SL: Salford Red Devils v Catalans Dragons KO 20:00

[John Drake]

Discuss Salford Red Devils v Catalans Dragons here.

[Chronicler of Chiswick]

Catalans by 10.

[Thunder Road]

Catalan win.

[idrewthehaggis]

This is weird. Success is probably going to be battered next week away at either Wigan, Perpignan or St Helens.

And to achieve that Solly has to sneak a W against a vibrant Dracs who hammered a fading star last week.

And hope Huddersfield does us a favour.

So acres of potential disappointment, despair and disheartening emotions for tonight.

The wonder of supporting Salford.........

 

[DG70]

Salford are 2/3 quality bulldozing props short of being where they aspire to be, even without injuries.

[Red Willow]

It wasn't a great game. It felt like an end of season game with nothing at stake.

[idrewthehaggis]

Thrills, spills and bellyaches. One

Well it was awful like a marriage petering out in a morose silence,  glances of regret and the underwhelming sense of fatalism.

So what started so well melted away. 

So Thrills

Give us the first half of the season - The Real Entertainers of Rowley Ball. Popping tries aplenty. Wide expansive play.

Sparkling performances. Key men being Brierley, Lafai, Dupree and Partington among others. 

But more so a heightened sense of resilience and a new born defensive strength. 

Everything seemed rosy on that warm north eastern afternoon.

 

[idrewthehaggis]

Thrills, spills and bellyaches Two.

And the spills. Literally lots of spills, offsides, high shoots and back chat.

Salford did win a "trophy" the victory of being the team which committed the highest penalties.

An astonishing 195, roughly one every ten minutes!! Even more so is a sixth of that emerged from Vuniyayawa.

A king in name and deed.

Discipline has been an obvious fail for this season. For all the dark comedy of various diverse interpretations of the Laws by our fabled men in black, continuous unforced errors, missed tackles, dropped balls and numerous penalties do not help.

Plenty on show here. 

Definitely need for new props. Rumour has it that Byrne could return, others think Jai Whitbread is on the way. 2R McMeeken and Romanous also mentioned.

Will Rowley persist with the Croft-Sneyd partnership? Is it time for Hastings to return?

 

[idrewthehaggis]

And finally Bellyaches.

To miss out on the play offs is a stomach gripe. Lessons to learn? For me don't abandon Rowley ball but the squad needs a shake. Less lads in their end of their RL, carrying injuries. More fellas in their 20s with season lasting quality. 

Does the winger duo and the Brodie/ Marc couplet need freshening? Certainly the Middles need new thoughts and need legs. 

However the big gut churning experiences were positive. The Warrington game will long be remembered by us Reds. 

Meanwhile the Club seems to a forceful advantageous place.

Income is up.

Expenditure in the team side will be increased bya third of a million.

Attendances have risen to over 5000.

A record crowd of over 7,00 was achieved.

Fans ownership moved a step closer.

Just short of £400 k was raised by a fans crowd raiser.

Total council of the Stadium almost complete, thus opening further access of revenue streams-F+D, ground naming, etc

Roll on 2024.