Catalans v Salford.

I’ve always thought of Easter as a magical time where Rugby League is concerned. A feast of local derby fixtures and a time that can make or break a season with matches coming thick and fast. I’ve got some really fond memories of Good Friday games. Whitehaven away in 2003 with Chris Charles kicking a goal off the touch line to draw the match. Warrington at The Willows in 2009, Warrington in 2005 beating them 42-10 and their coach Paul Cullen calling it Black Friday. 2015 beating Huddersfield away then a Easter Monday win against Wigan, all great times. My dads often told me about Easter in the 70s and 80s. Playing bitter rivals Swinton. Back in the 60s and 70s Salford would play three matches at Easter, Friday, Saturday and Monday. 

My dad recalls 1969 and some wonderful memories. Salford beat Blackpool Borough away on the good Friday 7-49. On Easter Saturday we travelled to Station  road and picked up a 3-19 victory at Swinton. Salford received the Mackeson stout gold ball for consecutive wins. On the Monday Wigan met us at the Willows, Billy Burgess and Bob Burdell scored a brace each as Salford thumped the cherry and whites 37-5. It was a tremendous run of eleven wins on the trot. The following match we were brought back down to earth with a home defeat to Huyton. 

Easter seems to have lost a bit of its sparkle these days. Teams only play one match now and this year Salford have been given a trip to Perpignan to face Catalans. 

Last week saw another tough night for the players and supporters with a 0-28 loss at home to Leeds. We lacked quality at times but the effort and endeavour the players showed was absolutely outstanding. I caught up with Jonny Vaughan after the match for a quick chat and the way he spoke really impressed me. He’s a very young player making his way in a brutal sport but his attitude was absolutely first class. He seemed concerned about his fellow team mates and the supporters. It really seemed to mean something to him and his commitment to the cause of Salford RLFC really struck a chord with me. You can see Jonny has picked up lots of good professional habits from his time at St.Helens. He’s been in a fantastic environment there and watching him play you can see he’s got a very exciting future in the sport. As the season goes on I think his time on loan at Salford will be a huge benefit to the club and Jonny himself. 

I don’t have sky sports but I did manage to track down the interview that Brian Carey and Jon Wilkin did with Chris Irwin prior to kick off last Thursday. First of all credit to Chris for facing the camera’s. It wasn’t an easy interview to do and quite a few difficult questions were asked. It seems to me like the owners don’t have any sort of interest or apathy towards Salford RLFC and to me that is very very concerning.

I’ve never been ruled by money and people who push their own importance just because they have a considerable amount of money don’t get my interest or respect. 

If the new owners want to reduce costs and budgets then fair enough I’ve got no problem with that but their is a way of going about things. Honesty and integrity are paramount in a sporting organisation. 

You’ve got players and staff that need looking after. They need a direction and a togetherness from top to bottom. People say sports clubs are a business, yes and their should be no us and them culture in business. Every body should be treated with respect. The lack of communication from the new owners and the way players, staff and supporters have been kept in the dark and treated with real contempt is a wound that could take a very long time to heal. In some ways it could be beyond repair. 

Without keep repeating myself because I am sure I’ve said this before but a few words of reassurance from someone at the top would go a long way. 

Super League away record.

Catalans 13

Draws 1

Salford 5

2006 Catalans 22 Salford 28

2006 Catalans 26 Salford 6

2007 Catalans 66 Salford 6

2009 Catalans 38 Salford 6

2010 Catalans 14 Salford 22

2011 Catalans 10 Salford 22

2012 Catalans 40 Salford 18

2013 Catalans 40 Salford 6

2014 Catalans 37 Salford 24

2015 Catalans 40 Salford 40

2016 Catalans 42 Salford 32

2017 Catalans 38 Salford 6

2018 Catalans 44 Salford 10

2019 Catalans 0 Salford 46

2020 Catalans 30 Salford 14

2021 Catalans 42 Salford 6

2022 Catalans 14 Salford 46

2023 Catalans 42 Salford 0

2024 Catalans 20 Salford 0

They played for both.

Despite Catalan Dragons short existence there are a number of players who’ve played for both clubs including Jodie Broughton, Luke Burgess, Iain Thornley, David Berthezene, Todd Carney, Michael Dobson, Richie Myler, Gil Dudson, Oliver Partington and Theo Fages.

A match to remember Saturday 25th March 2006.

Catalans 22 Salford City Reds 28

More than 500 Salford supporters took the opportunity to see the Reds play abroad for the first time in 10 years.

And they were treated to a superb see-saw contest which was jam-packed with turning points and controversial refereeing decisions.

An excellent start to the 2006 campaign had seen Salford playing some fantastic rugby built on the solid foundations of there hard working mean defence. There was a steel about Karl Harrison’s boys. Something that had been gradually built up, 2003 saw promotion after a superb and near faultless season in the National League one, 2004 and 2005 were all about stability. One of the key ingredients to the side of 2006 was the acquisition of Andrew Dunemann. The clever Australian a brilliant organiser on the pitch who was bang in form for this trip to the South of France.

Most teams would have buckled after conceding 16 points without reply in the lion’s den that is the Aime Giral stadium.

The Reds looked dead on their feet in the second half and they were unable to rotate players from the bench due to a host of injury problems.

Full back Karl Fitzpatrick was the hero of the hour as far as Salford fans were concerned.

He scored a brilliant first half brace of tries and prevented Catalans from pinching a point at the death with a sensational try-saving tackle on Bruno Verges.

Salford’s other tries came from Aaron Moule 2, Andy Coley and Simon Finnigan.

The only real concern was the goal kicking with just two conversions from six attempts between David Hodgson and Luke Robinson.

The Reds were flying high in the league after this result with five wins from there opening seven matches. It’s fair to say the atmosphere in Perpignan after the game was tremendous. The travelling Salford supporters enjoying a special time and a team to be proud of.

A final league position of 5th place in 2006 at the time was our best since our 4th place in 1979/80 season.

Salford’s team line up that night was;

Fitzpatrick; Hodgson, Littler, Moule, Wilshere; Dunemann, Robinson; Baldwin, Alker, Highton, Coley, Brocklehurst, Finnigan. Subs used: Haggerty, Clough, Langi, Clayton.

Saturday’s match.

The Dragons have been a little hit and miss so far in 2025. A big surprise was Sam Tomkins coming out of retirement and another player who’s now in the veteran stage of his career is Elliot Whitehead. After a tremendous career in Australia where Whitehead played over two hundred matches for Canberra Raiders he is now in his second spell with the Dragons. A hard running, tough tackling second rower with a very good try ratio is definitely one to watch.

Catalans have won five of their last six matches with just an agonising 13-14 defeat to St.Helens their only recent setback. Luke Keary and Theo Fages have been the half backs and seem to be forging a useful partnership. No club likes to lose their best players and it was a blow to the Dragons when Hull Kingston Rovers signed Arthur Mourgue last month. 

The future of Deon Cross playing again for Salford looks very doubtful along with a few other players. This has forced Paul Rowley to bring in more players on loan. Jonny Vaughan is here for the season and George Hill has worked very hard since his move from Castleford. This week three more players have arrived with Harvey Makin signing for a month from Wigan. Jake Thewlis for a month from Warrington and Toby Warren has signed for the rest of the season from Leeds. 

These youngsters maybe lacking a bit of experience but one things for sure, they are going to give it everything to impress their parent club and who knows for some their future could be with Salford in the long term. 

Kai Morgan has really come of age in recent weeks and is maturing all the time.

It can be difficult as a supporter going to matches knowing the team is very much up against it. With one victory and six defeats in the league so far in 2025 it’s not been easy on the eye. Out of those seven matches we’ve been nilled four times. It’s been heartwarming to see the effort and commitment of the players on show over the last few weeks. It’s disappointing that some players don’t want to play and ultimately want to move on but that said the situation is pretty much unprecedented in top flight Rugby League. 

It promises to be a very tough evening in Perpignan on Saturday. The weather looks pretty similar to the UK so that could be a blessing being spared the roasting hot temperatures we’ve endured on recent visits. For all the supporters making the trip have a fantastic time, take care and enjoy it! Safe travels.

The action gets under way at 6pm.

Paul Whiteside. 

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