The gulf between top flight rugby league and the Championship is a significant one but Super League to League one is as vast as can be.

That said, an enormous amount of credit must go to the Midlands Hurricanes who gave Salford a memorable cup tie. 

The Alexander Stadium is a terrific venue just outside England’s second city of Birmingham. It was a chilly, grey afternoon with a bitterly cold wind blowing. Salford were forced to make changes to their usual starting thirteen with Kai Morgan starting at hooker as Chris Atkin partnered Jayden Nikorima in the halves. Tiaki Chan made his debut in the second row having joined on loan from Wigan.

Both sides measured each other up in the early stages with defences on top. A slick move from a set scrum provided the first points of the match when Nene Macdonald powered over. Chris Hankinson converted off the touch line 0-6.

The Hurricanes got the ball back from a superb kick off and came back at the Devils showing a real attacking threat. Matty Crimes broke down the left edge with the elusive winger providing the platform for Aidan Roden to charge over. The score was levelled at 6-6.

The home side forced a mistake from Salford fullback Ryan Brierley with another attacking kick and they were denied a second try when a kick to the in goal just evaded the chase. The Hurricanes were solid in defence and very inventive on attack.

Chris Hankinson restored Salford’s lead with a powerful finish from close range.

Crimes broke down the left and scored a fine try. The pacy winger caused Salford plenty of problems landing on his front and getting a quick play the ball. The home side failed to convert the try but at 10-12 with halftime approaching the match was in the balance. 

Salford looked at little rudderless on attack, particularly on the last tackle when they turned possession over on a number of occasions as they ran out of ideas. 

Hankinson failed to convert a penalty right on the half time hooter, the visitors held on to a two point advantage at the break. 

Salford needed to up the tempo to pull away from their lively opponents and Chris Atkin went the direct route. Macdonald was in support and his turn of pace opened up an eight point lead with a nice try. Both sides struggled to complete sets with the handling errors mounting up but a slice of luck took the game away from the Hurricanes. Nikorima intercepted an attacking kick to race away to score a try as the game headed towards the final quarter.

Deon Cross scored twice with Esan Marsters and Nikorima also scoring in the closing stages to give Salford a comfortable victory in the end. 

A fantastic effort from the Hurricanes will give them plenty of confidence going into their League one campaign. 

Salford progress to the next round of the Challenge Cup were they will be looking for a home tie after playing lots of away games in the competition over the last few years. 

It was a good atmosphere in the stand with the away following from Salford in fine voice and with the very positive news of the takeover this week you could smell the optimism as well as the relief. The Red Devils play their opening Super League match of 2025 next Saturday away to St.Helens in what promises to be a cracking match and a huge test. It’s fantastic that Paul Rowley has kept his squad intact after the threat of players being sold. This team has plenty of potential and Rowley is the man to get the best out of them.

Midlands Hurricanes 10 Salford 46.

Paul Whiteside.

Big thanks to Steve McCormick for the photos.