SALFORD RED DEVILS went down 48-16 against Castleford Tigers at The Jungle this afternoon.
Paul Rowley’s men threatened a comeback at one stage in the second-half when the score was just 24-10, but Salford capitulated to concede another four tries.
And Rowley himself cut a dejected figure after the game, saying: “There wasn’t much statistically in the game but physically, they were better than us with and without the ball.
“We showed promise for a couple of tries and a near miss for a third which would have made it interesting.
“That might have given us more hope but I thought Cas kicked on and I thought they were physically better than us with or without the ball and that was the difference.”
Nene Macdonald returned to the starting line-up to score a try and set another up – and Rowley believes the PNG international will only get better.
“It’s great to have Nene back. He is world-class player. And him being 75 percent of where he can be is a lot more than some players at 100 percent.
“He is only going to get better.”
Rowley acknowledged just how tough it has been off and on the field.
“It’s very difficult, you’ve got to find motivation as players and staff. I know it’s a collective but individually we have to ensure everyone is representing themselves in the manner they would want to be performing at.
“We have to try and find some different things to motivate the group and get us as cohesive as possible.”
Salford are, however, counting the cost of injuries to Ethan Ryan and Jayden Nikorima.
“The replay on Jayden’s injury didn’t look too promising, but both don’t look too great.”
