Salford coach Paul Rowley has challenged his players to up the ante and prove they are no Super League pushovers.
After reaching the Grand Final in 2019 and Challenge Cup final in 2020 under Ian Watson, the Red Devils were well off the pace in 2021.
They finished second-bottom after losing 15 of their 22 games and went out of the Cup at Castleford Tigers in the quarter-finals.
Watson’s successor Richard Marshall departed at the end of the season and former Leigh Centurions and Toronto Wolfpack coach Rowley took the reins.
Having tasted success in League 1 and the Championship, the former England hooker is eager to make his mark in the top flight.
But on Friday night at home against Hull Kingston Rovers, Salford were 18-0 down at half-time, and while they mounted a strong fightback, still lost 26-16.
“We need to do more to prove the doubters wrong,” said Rowley after tries by Ken Sio, Shane Wright and Joe Burgess helped get his team back to within two points.
“We played better in the second half, but as a group, we’re not defending well enough. From the start our appetite to do that was poor.
“We got rolled far too easily in the first half, and had harsh words at half-time, because if you’re not willing to defend, you’re not going to win games.
“We managed to score when we had the ball, which was encouraging, and we tried to rescue a bad situation.
“But if we had worked hard in the first place, and defended properly, we wouldn’t have been in that position.”
The above content is also available in the regular weekly edition of League Express, on newsstands every Monday in the UK and as a digital download. Click here for more details.
