Salford have adopted a more hands-on approach to pre-season ahead of the new campaign.
Ian Watson has revealed the Red Devils have added more ball skill sessions to their training far earlier than they did ahead of the 2017 season.
The move comes due to Watson’s belief the side can continue to improve their expansive style of play next year after earning plenty of plaudits last year.
Salford started the year superbly and were in the top four at the end of July, only to fall away in the Super 8s.
However, the Red Devils chief believes the early signs in pre-season are extremely positive, with Watson keen to impress again with the ball next year.
“I’m really pleased,” he said.
“We’ve had a lot more ball in hand work this season. We’ve had more game situations in training which has been one of the biggest differences that the boys will have noticed. We’ve been looking at the technical and tactical without missing out on our physical.
“Nobody has a bad pre-season but I’ve been really impressed.”
Despite many tipping Salford to fail in their attempts to surpass their accomplishments this year, Watson remains optimistic.
“We’ve been getting together a good group of players over the last couple of years, but it takes time to get together a group that is on the same page and all want to become mates and have the same common goal. We’re getting that in our group now. Pre-season is going along really well.
