St.Helens v Salford.

Oh mercy, mercy me

Oh, things ain’t what they used to be, no, no

Where did all the blue skies go?

Not my words but those of Marvin Gaye. I must admit I really like Roberts Palmer’s version of that wonderful song. I heard it recently and it made me really think about the future of our great club.

I mentioned last week about it raining on us a lot this season. Well to start this week off it’s been another deluge. After back to back man of the match awards the all action Joe Shorrocks received a one match suspension for a late challenge on Aidan Sezer during Sunday’s game with Hull Fc. Shorrocks will be a huge loss for this week’s game against in-form St.Helens. After signing on loan from Castleford Caine Robb had a busy game at hooker until he failed his head assessment. This leaves us two players down this week but positive news was the two week loan signing of former Saints and Castleford halfback Danny Richardson from Hull Kingston Rovers. A Widnesian by birth, Richardson played junior rugby league for Widnes Moorfield and Halton Farnworth Hornets. He’s been a very reliable goal kicker throughout his career which makes him a very useful signing and one that hopefully stays longer than the initial two weeks. 

It’s been a pretty nervous week for Salford supporters with the HMRC meeting in London on Wednesday this week. To give us a bit of breathing space this has now been adjourned until September. Let’s hope progress starts to be made, people start communicating and Salford RLFC can start moving forward into a positive future or more importantly a secure future.

Super League away record.

St.Helens 31

Draws 0

Salford 1

1997 St. Helens 19 Salford 12

1998 St. Helens 48 Salford 12

1999 St. Helens 48 Salford 0

2000 St. Helens 46 Salford 22

2000 St. Helens 50 Salford 28

2001 St. Helens 66 Salford 16

2002 St. Helens 34 Salford 2

2004 St. Helens 40 Salford 4

2005 St. Helens 46 Salford 12

2006 St. Helens 28 Salford 6

2007 St. Helens 48 Salford 4

2007 St. Helens 27 Salford 26

2009 St. Helens 38 Salford 12

2010 St. Helens 58 Salford 34

2011 St. Helens 31 Salford 6 (played at Widnes)

2012 St. Helens 38 Salford 10

2013 St. Helens 14 Salford 10

2014 St. Helens 32 Salford 12

2015 St. Helens 32 Salford 12

2016 St. Helens 34 Salford 20

2017 St. Helens 25 Salford 24

2018 St. Helens 32 Salford 2

2019 St. Helens 32 Salford 30

2020 St.Helens 48 Salford 8

2021 St.Helens 29 Salford 6 (at Headingley, Leeds)

2021 St.Helens 28 Salford 0

2022 St.Helens 14 Salford 10

2022 St.Helens 19 Salford 12 (Play off semi final)

2023 St.Helens 26 Salford 12

2024 St.Helens 20 Salford 24

2024 St.Helens 17 Salford 16

2025 St.Helens 82 Salford 0

They played for both.

Over the years there has been so much player movement between the two clubs. The town of St Helens is a real hot bed of the game with some fantastic amateur set ups including Thatto Heath, Blackbrook and Clock Face. In the Super League era Matty Smith, Joey Lussick, Jordan Turner, Lama Tasi, Tommy Lee and Theo Fages have all moved to Saints from Salford. Willie Talu, Tony Puletua, Francis Meli, Mark Edmondson, Matty Ashurst, Andrew Dixon, Danny Arnold, Mark Flanagan, Alan Hunte, Josh Jones, Bobbie Goulding, Lee Gaskell ,Paul Forber, Mark Lee, Jake Emmitt and Anthony Stewart to name a few in recent years to represent both sides.

Frank Wilson, Steve Rule, Eric Prescott, Paul Groves, Paul Brownbill, John Mantle, Ken Gwilliam, George Nicholls and Darren Bloor played for both clubs in the pre super League era. The list could certainly go on as there are many more. Alex Murphy and Shaun McRae have coached both sides.

A match to remember  Friday 9th March 2024.

St.Helens 20 Salford 24.

Never stop believing!

Just prior to kick off it was a very nippy evening in Merseyside with a biting breeze. The pitch looked good and it was perfect conditions for Rugby League, especially the way these two teams like to play. St.Helens have started the season like a well oiled machine. Three wins and just eight points conceded in the opening rounds of the season makes them one of the benchmarks of 2024.

Salford arrived in good spirits after three good performances with two home victories over Castleford and Hull Kingston Rovers.

St.Helens are a club that ooze professionalism and very rarely seem to have a week link in there side.

Ryan Brierley came back into the Salford side at fullback with Chris Atkin on the bench, the rest of the side was exactly the same as last Saturday’s match.

The Red Devils made a bright start but it didn’t take long for the hosts to take control. Saints were strong and powerful going forward and when a risky Cade Cust pass to Brierley went down they took advantage. The ball went wide in the blink of an eye and Jack Welsby scored.

Salford were struggling to contain Saints who were offloading at will and when Alex Walmersley broke half back Lewis Dodd backed up to score a fine try to double the lead. Mark Percival missed both conversions, 8-0.

The Red Devils carried on working hard and eventually enjoyed some possession. Walmersley left the field injured after an incident that Salford felt slightly aggrieved about and so did the travelling support. This set the game alight and the intensity went up a couple of notches. The visitors moved the ball left and Deon Cross finished well in the corner. Sneyd booted off the touch line, 8-6.

At times Saints were toying with Salford on attack. It was offloads galore and when Percival hit a perfect line he raced in to score under the posts, this time converting to give the home side a 14-6 cushion.

Dodd continued to pepper Salford fullback Brierley with huge high kicks but he was safe as houses on every occasion taking them with such calmness and confidence.

At the start of the second half Cross broke from a lovely Kallum Watkins pass, the ball came back into the middle before Jack Ormondroyd knocked on. As the Salford prop lost possession he was clattered by Percival. The referee Tom Grant adjudged it to be contact with the head and showed him the red card.

Another huge play followed went Salford looked to go wide early. The touch judge waved for obstruction and from the resulting penalty Dodd scored his second try which put Saints 20-6 up with time ticking away.

Nene McDonald forced the ball down for a try that was awarded by the video referee which reduced the gap to eight points with ten minutes remaining.

Salford had commitment and desire in sack loads. They were prepared to go toe to toe with there illustrious hosts right to the final bell and that had to be admired.

After forcing a repeat set Chris Atkin received the ball down a blind alley with nothing on. He beat three defenders and found a gap to dart over for a super try. Atkin had replaced the injured Cade Cust in the first half who never came back on. Sneyd converted to leave Salford trailing by two at 20-18.

The Red Devils had also lost Brad Singleton to injury and were playing without a recognised prop. Joe Shorrocks was everywhere in an all action display of heroics and Ben Hellewell gave his heart and soul as he always does.

With five minutes remaining Salford hit the lead when Cross scored his second try, Tim Lafai provided a perfect pass, once again the ice cool Sneyd booted off the touch line 20-24.

The home side now had to gamble and roared on by their supporters they went charging up the pitch to try and snatch a dramatic win like they’ve done so many times before. Big Alex Walmersley came back on for Saints and he went hurtling towards the posts but the Salford cover defence forced the knock on and the travelling fans were ecstatic. The clock counted down and as the hooter sounded forty four years of hurt and disappointing matches disappeared into the clear night sky. The supporters celebrated a famous win and a win that was very much deserved. A never say die attitude and a work ethic that is absolutely priceless. Salford coach Paul Rowley has built something very special and his players are willing to do whatever it takes for him and that could take Salford a long way this season. Rowley was as humble as ever after the match and payed his respect to the great club that St.Helens are.

You should never stop believing though because if you work hard in sport and keep going to the bitter end eventually you might get that reward and when you do it feels special.

The teams that night,

St.Helens, Welsby, Mackinson, Blake, Percival, Bennison, Lomax, Dodd, Walmersley, Clark, Mata’utia, Whitley, Sironen, Knowles.

Subs, Mbye, Bell, Wingfield, Delaney.

Salford, Brierley, Hankinson, Macdonald, Lafai, Cross, Cust, Sneyd, Ormondroyd, Bourouh, Singleton, Stone, Watkins, Shorrocks.

Subs, Vuniyayawa,Atkin, Wright, Hellewell.

Referee, Tom Grant.

Attendance, 11,548.

Sunday’s match.

I always try to remain positive when writing my previews and match reports but I think you’ve also got to be realistic. We’ve struggled to score points this season and I can see that being the case again this Sunday. To add to our concerns St.Helens have started to hit form with four victories in their last five games. A very solid win over Leeds last Friday will have boosted confidence too. Pressure seemed to be building on coach Paul Wellens when the two sides met just a few weeks ago. 

I don’t tend to read to much in to stats but one that has alarmed me recently is the amount of penalties that get given against us. We didn’t seem to get one 50/50 call last Sunday against Hull FC and when your up against it a big penalty count in the opposition’s favour is just another nail in the coffin. Hull FC built momentum on the back of penalties. It put them in scoring positions time and time again. 

How will Paul Rowley approach this Sunday’s match? I think the answer to that is fairly straightforward. It’s likely that the squad will pick its self due to the personnel we have available. Saints will start as huge favourites and will be looking to pile the points on. It’s tough for both our players and supporters at the moment going to matches that we know we are really going to struggle in due to the circumstances we are dealing with. 

Danny Richardson will be expected to make his debut in the halves and on a much brighter note there is also a possibility of Jayden Nikorima making the team after injury. This would allow Paul Rowley to make a few changes in the back line where needed. 

The attitude of the Salford supporters turning up week in week out to both home and away matches is truly remarkable. The spirit on show on the terraces has been heart warming. We’ve enjoyed every little scrap of success we’ve had in each match. We’ve savoured every try and the players really appreciate it. It Would be easy to throw the towel in, turn your back and walk away. I’ve heard nasty comments like, just fold the club, what’s the point, you’re an embarrassment, you’re damaging the league! For people who come out with these lazy comments just think for a minute! We play a sport where some clubs are more financially stable than others, some get bigger crowds than others, some have had more success in a decade than other clubs have had in a century. But in my opinion every club in Rugby League deserves respect. Supporters are the life blood of the game. We can’t make big financial decisions, we don’t run our club and we are not in a position of power. What we do have as a collective is a lifetime of memories, passion and unconditional love for the club that we were brought up with. With the greatest respect if you’re a Wigan, Leeds or St.Helens supporter you’ll never understand what it’s like to follow a club like Salford RLFC. It will be fifty years in 2026 since we last won a major trophy. That’s a lifetime ago. Our supporters will never stop believing and it’s exactly the same if you support Swinton, Rochdale Hornets, Dewsbury or any other club. I don’t think you’ll ever get it unless you belong! 

 I won’t go on too much because I start getting emotional. Let’s do our job on Sunday and get behind the players as best we can. 

The action gets underway at 3pm. Safe travels and enjoy the match.

Paul Whiteside. 

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