Ian Watson admitted it was a difficult decision to leave Todd Carney on the bench during the club’s victory over Castleford.
Carney was named as a sub on his debut for the club but never took to the field as Salford wrapped up a 13-12 victory over the former league leaders.
Following their triumph, Watson explained that he didn’t want to disrupt the fluency of his side going into the closing stages.
“At 12-10 I was thinking about putting him on because he could give Castleford something different to look at but Rob Lui and ‘Dobbo’ were already in the game at that time and to pull them out would have been a tough call.
“It was one of those decisions I had to make and when ‘Gaz’ put the drop goal over I pulled him and I’ve just spoken to him and he’s good. He’s just pleased we got the win.”
Gareth O’Brien was the hero once again as his drop goal three minutes from the end nudged the Red Devils ahead, with the fullback replicating his heroics in the Million Pound Game last season.
“Someone has just asked if anyone else can drop goals in this club,” Watson said.
“While he’s knocking them over, he’s happy to take that pressure on. He’s stepped up to the fore but I think, for the bigger picture, the team executed everything we spoke about during the week.
“I thought our middles were phenomenal against a pack that teams have been struggling to handle.
“All season so far we’ve been really good in parts and not been seeing those games off but that has set a little bit of a standard, that we can mix it with the best.”
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