Castleford v Salford.

It’s certainly been a miserable start to the season for Salford and their supporters. Every week sees another story of strife and negativity. On arrival at Craven Park on Thursday night I started to hear rumours about the players not being payed. As I write this the club has neither confirmed or denied this but it seems strange that pay was never an issue under the previous regime. To the best of my knowledge the players were always paid on time so it seems strange now when the club is debt free we are having problems. Does the money from the television deal not pay the players?

It all seems a bit of a mess but it needs sorting as quickly as possible. The team performance at Hull Kingston Rovers was well below the level needed for the standard of Super League. I did hear one comment on social media saying no pay no perform. In my opinion though as soon as that shirt is put on you should be playing to the best of your ability for the supporters. Otherwise don’t play at all. 

The media have been quick to jump all over the Salford situation and I understand they are always looking for a headline and a story to grab peoples attention. Reports of players going on strike and not training seemed a little extreme if the pay was only a few days late. Perhaps the players know a lot more than us supporters do which is slightly worrying.

The club have remained pretty silent in recent weeks which creates a vacuum. The press will then fill that vacuum and a lot of the times that can make things ten times worse. Supporters are becoming increasingly frustrated which is only natural. We have no idea what the squad is going to look like on Friday night at Castleford in what will be another very tough match. Joe Shorrocks has two more matches left on his suspension and to add to that Jayden Nikorima has received a one match ban for his challenge on Niall Evalds last Thursday. 

Paul Rowley has been faced with a lot of tricky questions recently and a lot of this is things he should not really be getting quizzed about. In a way he’s been thrown under the bus to defend the club and looking at it now he needs some backup from the people above him. 

Super League away record 

Castleford 18

Draws 0

Salford 8

1997 Castleford 12 Salford 10

1998 Castleford 30 Salford 12

1999 Castleford 38 Salford 10

2000 Castleford 30 Salford 4

2001 Castleford 22 Salford 24

2002 Castleford 24 Salford 2

2004 Castleford 32 Salford 36

2004 Castleford 22 Salford 24

2006 Castleford 28 Salford 26

2009 Castleford 52 Salford 16

2010 Castleford 30 Salford 12

2011 Castleford 52 Salford 20

2012 Castleford 34 Salford 30

2013 Castleford 44 Salford 30

2014 Castleford 14 Salford 10

2015 Castleford 30 Salford 16

2016 Castleford 16 Salford 32

2017 Castleford 38 Salford 14

2018 Castleford 22 Salford 8

2019 Castleford 24 Salford 20

2020 Castleford 37 Salford 30 ( behind closed doors Headingley)

2021 Castleford 18 Salford 70

2022 Castleford 16 Salford 26

2022 Castleford 10 Salford 50

2023 Castleford 10 Salford 42

2024 Castleford 36 Salford 24

They played for both.

Throughout the Super League era there have been plenty of players who have played for both clubs and quite a few through the 1970s and 80s.

Here is a selection of them.

Paul Fletcher, Paul Orr, Bill Kirkbride, Jonny Ward, Barry Kear, Ron Hill, Ian Bragger, Justin Carney, Chris Charles, Jason Critchley, Luke Dorn, Greg Eden, Jake Emmit, Jason Flowers, Matt Gardner, Ashley Gibson, Wayne Godwin, Weller Hauraki, Lee Jewitt, Michael Korkidas, Francis Maloney, Mike Platt, Darren Rogers, Darren Shaw, Mark Sneyd, Gray Viane, Niall Evalds, George Griffin, Jordan Turner and Gareth O’Brien.

A match to remember, Sunday 5th September 2004.

Castleford 22 Salford 24.

Sunday 5th September 2004; a crucial match for both sides. Salford had been promoted at the end of the 2003 season and were desperate to survive making really strong progress under the leadership of coach Karl Harrison.

Having already won at Wheldon Road earlier in the season victory here would have a big say in the race for survival. A real thrilling contest saw Castleford winger Paul Mellor grab a hat trick of tries. Andy Coley, Malcolm Alker and a brace from Karl Fitzpatrick along with four goals from the ever reliable Chris Charles were just enough as Salford edged to victory 22-24. There were terrific scenes of celebration on the terraces at the final hooter from the travelling Salford supporters.

Despite a nail biting 6-7 victory at fellow strugglers Widnes a week later Castleford lost there final match to Wakefield and were relegated on 12 points.

Salford had done enough finishing the season on 16 points in 9th place.

The teams that day:

Castleford: Gibson, Pryce, Saxton, Rogers, Mellor, Davis, Maloney, Greenhill, Godwin, Lynch, Harland, Crouch, Hudson.

Replacements: Sykes, Tookey, Hepworth, Jackson.

Salford: Fitzpatrick, Caine, Littler, Beverley, Stewart, McGuinness, Clinch, Baynes, Alker, Highton, Coley, Rutgerson, Charles.

Replacements: Haggerty, Johnson, Shipway, Baldwin.

Referee: Steve Ganson.

Attendance: 5,809.

Friday’s match.

As of Monday teatime the bookmakers had not put any betting odds out for Castleford v Salford. Once again they are waiting to see what Salford’s twenty one man squad will look like. A lot can happen in twenty four hours in rugby league but let’s hope this week things start to look a little brighter. After three matches and three heavy defeats Salford are rock bottom with a massive minus points difference. 

The Tigers parted company with veteran prop forward Liam Watts last week. It was looking like Watts would be stepping back to part time Rugby League before Hull FC stepped in a secured his services until the end of the 2025 season. The thirty four year old made his debut for the Tigers in 2007 and is one of the most experienced players in the top flight competition. 

Like Salford, Castleford have lost their opening three fixtures. They took Hull Kingston Rovers to golden point extra time in round one but were heavily beaten at home to St.Helens in round two before a 38-24 defeat at Headingley against Leeds on Sunday. Head coach Danny McGuire kept his recruitment pretty low key in the close season. Two players joined from Australian side Parramatta Eels, Zac Cini is a utility back and he’s been impressive so far with two tries. Daejarn Asi can play in the halves or at centre. Judah Rimbu is a hooker who had a good try scoring record in Australia with the Papua New Guinea Hunters who play in the Queensland cup.

With Jayden Nikorima suspended, Paul Rowley will need to name another stand off. Could we see Ryan Brierley move there and Chris Hankinson or Nene Macdonald slot in at fullback? Chris Atkin can play in the halves and so can young Kai Morgan. Fingers crossed we get some good news this week regarding the wages and administration situation. It’s tough enough being a rugby league player without having those worries. Same goes for the supporters who spend countless amounts of money following the team through good times and bad. 

I’ve seen a lot of animosity towards our club on social media from other clubs supporters. The average floating supporter will never know how much a rugby league club means to a supporter who follows their team religiously through thick and thin. It’s much more than just eighty minutes once a week. It’s a way of life, a marriage, a commitment of blind faith and loyalty. Its in your blood and tears. No one can ever take that solid bond away from you. It’s your Salford RLFC!

The action gets under way at 8pm

Safe travels and enjoy the match.

Paul Whiteside. 

Big thanks to Steve McCormick for the photos and the Salford match day programme.