Leeds v Salford.

Well what a day Sunday turned out to be. Despite Salford and Castleford struggling at the bottom of the table the two sides played out a cracking match full of action. 

From one to seventeen the Salford players stood up and played their hearts out. Once again we had a fair amount of setbacks to deal with losing Loghan Lewis, Esan Marsters and Jayden Nikorima to injury. 

Whilst it was terrific to get the win the players were more relieved than anything after the match. I spoke to Joe Mellor at length. Joe is a fantastic player and has been a model professional throughout his career. He gave me an insight into how the players are feeling with all the off field drama and it’s not good at all. 

I don’t know the ins and outs about finances and bridging loans so I am not really going to go into that. Paul Rowley was asked in the press conference about senior players refusing to play the Leeds game this Friday. Rightly so no definite answer was given to that question on Sunday evening but it’s a story that started to grow with more reports on various Rugby League media platforms on Monday teatime. 

Whatever your opinion is on the whole situation you’ve got to have sympathy with the players and this unprecedented situation. To effectively go on strike means they are in a desperate place. They’ve been backed into a corner really and so have the loyal supporters. The people at the top have been very quiet all season and when I say the top I mean the people who run the sport at the RFL and the people who own/run Salford RLFC. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again that I am not pointing the finger of blame at anyone. I think the whole shambolic situation is too complicated for that. 

The players, staff and supporters are completely innocent in all of this and I hope we get the outcome we deserve. Salford RLFC is a huge part of many people’s lives and has been for a long time. It’s a beacon of hope for the local community. We are a family that care about each other and I pray that if we all stand together in this we will fix what has become broken. 

Every week I’ve struggled to right these previews and I really appreciate people reading them. Just like you I am a supporter. We love our club and this season it’s hurt like mad. 

Rugby league players put their bodies on the line every week in what can be a very unforgiving sport. We should never take that for granted. 

With representatives arriving at Salford on Wednesday to meet the club and players let’s hope some good comes out of the discussion. Paul Rowley named a strong squad on Wednesday diner time so any talk of players refusing to play might now get put to bed.

Super League away record.

Leeds 25

Draws 0

Salford 3

1997 Leeds 34 Salford 18

1998 Leeds 31 Salford 12

1999 Leeds 50 Salford 16

2000 Leeds 42 Salford 16

2001 Leeds 56 Salford 6

2002 Leeds 39 Salford 38

2004 Leeds 34 Salford 6

2005 Leeds 54 Salford 14

2006 Leeds 20 Salford 12

2007 Leeds 52 Salford 14

2009 Leeds 20 Salford 30

2010 Leeds 22 Salford 10

2011 Leeds 46 Salford 12

2012 Leeds 46 Salford 12

2013 Leeds 42 Salford 14

2014 Leeds 32 Salford 4

2015 Leeds 70 Salford 6

2016 Leeds 8 Salford 0

2017 Leeds 20 Salford 14

2017 Leeds 44 Salford 2 (super 8s)

2018 Leeds 20 Salford 0

2018 Leeds 18 Salford 16 (the qualifiers)

2019 Leeds 12 Salford 20

2020 Leeds 50 Salford 12 (behind closed doors at Warrington)

2021 Leeds 38 Salford 16

2022 Leeds 34 Salford 14

2023 Leeds 12 Salford 22

2024 Leeds 22 Salford 16

They played for both.

Here are a few players to wear the red of Salford and the blue and amber of Leeds.

Luke Burgess, King Vuniyayawa, Joel Moon, Mark Brooke-Cowden, Andrew Duneman, Ensene Famailo, Phil Ford, Ashley Gibson, Phil Hassan, Weller Hauraki, Ben Jones Bishop, Andy Kirk, Francis Maloney, Tui Lolahea, Richie Myler, David Young, Graham Holroyd, Derrell Olpherts, Robert Lui, Luis Roberts, Brodie Croft and Andy Ackers.

A match to remember Friday 5th May 2023.

Leeds 12 Salford 22.

Salford’s Silver Service!

Salford victories in this fixture have been a very rare occurrence. The solitary win of the 1970s came in February 1977. It was the Queens silver jubilee in the summer of that year and since then the Red Devils have recorded two away wins against Leeds. In a way it was quite ironic that last night’s victory and performance came on another Royal weekend and it was certainly a Royal performance to be proud of from Paul Rowley’s team. The travelling supporters soaked it up and enjoyed every second of it.

It was a tight start to the match with early Salford pressure as the nervous looking Rhinos came up with errors. The Red Devils seemed a lot more resilient than of years gone by. There defence is tough and they went toe to toe with a talented Leeds team

The opening quarter was dominated by solid defence from both teams. You could hear the full force of some of the tackles from the terraces. Chances were limited but Salford took full advantage when Leeds half back Blake Austin was sent to the sin bin for a rather cynical challenge that left referee Jack Smith with no other option. The Red Devils immediately made the extra man advantage count and Deon Cross sent winger Rhys Williams over with the ever reliable Marc Sneyd booting the conversion off the touch line.

Sneyd once again weaved his magic with a teasing kick that forced a drop out before Salford received a penalty. The opportunity to kick the goal was spurned as Salford backed themselves for another try. The gamble paid off as second row grafter Sam Stone powered over to hammer home the visitors relentless attitude. Sneyd again converted, 0-12.

Richie Myler came mighty close to touching down but couldn’t quite ground a kick through to the in goal area. Rhyse Martin looked certain to score but Salford’s goal line defence muscled up superbly to frustrate the home side.

A frantic passage of play in the final minute of the first half brought Leeds a try from Myler. Some very good support play and backing up from the Rhinos reduced the half time deficit to 6-12. There was injury concern for Salford with fullback Ryan Brierley leaving the field. Chris Atkin came on as his replacement.

Salford kept the pressure on after the break with a wonderful desire and determination. This was personified by a drop out that was forced after a Sneyd kick. They say a kick is only as good as a chase but this chase was top notch. A penalty followed on the next set which Sneyd had no hesitation in converting to nudge the Devils out to 6-14.

Ellis Longstaff was playing at centre for the injured Matty Costello. The youngster was targeted by Leeds and Harry Newman who niggled him all night. Longstaff got the better of the England centre from Croft’s kick through to finish superbly in front of the ecstatic Salford supporters on the West Terrace.

Sneyd added another penalty 6-22 but Leeds gathered the kick off and scored a try through James Bentley. 12-22.

With Leeds just ten points adrift the home crowd lifted. The Rhinos threw everything at Salford for the last fifteen minutes, penalties and set restarts were all repelled by a solid red wall.

This Salford side has matured into a real tough and dogged unit. Yes they can score some wonderful tries and play free flowing, flamboyant rugby that we all love to watch. Every winning team though needs the grafters and that never say die willingness to fight for every inch. When you have both these qualities your a real threat. Salford’s league position tells its own story. I also think this team can get better.

The teams that night;

Leeds: Myler, Macdonald, Newman, Martin, Handley, Austin, Sinfield, Lisone, O’Connor, Oledzki, Bentley, McDonnell, C Smith.

Subs: Holroyd, Johnson, Walters, Gannon.

Salford: Brierley, Williams, Cross, Longstaff, Burgess, Croft, Sneyd, Dupree, Ackers, Vuniyayawa, Stone, Watkins, Partington.

Subs: Ormondroyd, Dixon, Atkin, Wright.

Referee: Jack Smith.

Attendance:13,007.

Friday’s match.

Going to Headingley is always a pretty daunting prospect. It’s a bit like walking into the huge exam hall at school to do your GCSE’s or climbing into a car to take your driving test. It’s a ground where you have to work for every scrap. The home support provides plenty of noise in what is normally a packed crowd. Salford ended a thirty two year losing streak in this fixture when they beat Leeds on Easter Monday in 2009. Since then we’ve managed another two precious victories.

In recent years the Rhinos have been pretty disappointing by the standards they set in the 2000s. Under coach Brad Arthur though they seemed to be finding some consistency. Arthur has got the team disciplined, super fit and they look miles more resilient.

It’s going to be another week of shuffling around the team for Paul Rowley. Injuries to Marsters, Lewis and Nikorima is just another example of how much adversity Salford have had to deal with. It’s a possibility that Ryan Brierley could move into the halves with Oliver Russell with a number of players available to fill in at fullback.Esan Marsters has been very consistent this season and I am pretty sure he’s played almost every match.

Loghan Lewis made his long awaited first appearance of 2025 but sadly got a head injury moments after coming off the bench on Sunday. His dad Mick has come over from Australia. It’s such a shame Loghan will miss the match against Leeds but I hope he has a great time catching up with his dad. The Salford supporters have really taken him to heart and he’s a big favourite with them. 

I think we know what to expect facing Leeds having played them twice already this season in the reverse fixture. Jake Connor is proving to be a very astute signing and his partnership with Brodie Croft in the halves seems to be gathering momentum. The Rhinos had an excellent win away to Hull Kingston Rovers a few weeks ago and that was built on aggressive, disciplined defence.

Once again the bookmakers are offering huge odds. Salford are 100-1 to win at Headingley and have a 42 point start on the betting coupon. That said you might need to bring your tin hat on Friday night. 

Safe travels and enjoy the game.

The action gets under way at 8pm.

Paul Whiteside. 

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