Leigh v Salford.

Last week was definitely a bittersweet one for the Salford supporters. A fantastic parade of pride and passion as the 1873 Group organised a protest march to the stadium. Once again a big dark cloud hovered overhead in the week building up to Sunday. Yet again more derogatory stories came out of the club which made the national newspapers and television which dragged Salford RLFC through the mud. Once again our great name has been tarnished and then our match with Wakefield Trinity got cancelled with the reason being welfare issues and not enough experienced players to play.

The Wakefield club and supporters have every right to be disappointed by the decision as they were looking for a big win to boost their own points difference in a quest for the Playoffs. If it’s any consolation though they got a week off to rest players and escaped the weekend without picking any injuries up.

As a Salford supporter I wish that’s all we had to worry about. Our situation is now as desperate as it could be. We’ve still no idea what the future holds for our historic club. I am still waiting like we all are for somebody to take responsibility for the club. We just seem to be drifting along week by week with nothing positive to report.

A date has now been set by the Rugby Football League for the 2026 structure. Teams will find out the fourteen Super League teams on Thursday 16th October.

On the player front Joe Shorrocks joined Leeds on loan for the rest of the season. One question I’d liked to have asked Joe is why don’t you want to play for Salford anymore. In fact that is a question for all the players who have left. I think I already know the answer to that though.

Joe Bullock also moved on to join Barrow on a permanent deal and I listened to the podcast he did with journalist Matthew Shaw and former player Kyle Amor. Joe painted a very bleak picture of the way the whole situation has been managed from day one. Communication has been desperately lacking in all areas. I won’t go into detail but it certainly shows so people up, I’ll let you listen and make your own judgment. Hopefully some home truths come out. The elephant in the room this year is the Ownership regime at Salford. We still don’t know the direction they wish to take the club and the supporters have now started to reach boiling point. Answer’s are now being demanded and more pressure needs applying by the Rugby Football League, the press and the Broadcasters. The Local council and the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham seem to be in our corner which is a positive. Whatever you think of those political figures I think it’s better to have their support than not. 

With a visit to Leigh this Friday once again our team is set to be full of loan signings with players arriving from Leigh, Wakefield and Hull Kingston Rovers respectively. 

Super League away record.

Leigh 3

Draw 0

Salford 6

2003 Leigh 12 Salford 32 Hilton Park

2005 Leigh 6 Salford 32 Hilton Park.

2005 Leigh 14 Salford 20 Hilton Park.

2008 Leigh 8 Salford 24 Hilton Park.

2017 Leigh 25 Salford 0 Leigh Sports Village.

2021 Leigh 32 Salford 22 Leigh Sports Village.

2023 Leigh 10 Salford 20 Leigh Sports Village.

2023 Leigh 20 Salford 22 Leigh Sports Village.

2024 Leigh 40 Salford 12 Leigh Sports Village.

They played for both.

Luke Adamson, Kevin Ashcroft, Simon Baldwin, Radney Bowker, David Bradbury, John Duffy, Jacob Emmitt, Matt Gardner, Matty Gee, Bobbie Goulding, Danny Halliwell, Harrison Hansen, Gareth Hock, Liam Hood, Peter Smethurst, Stuart Littler, Peter Alstead, Andrew Dixon, Nathan McAvoy, Dean McGilvary, Reni Maitua, Chris Morley, Stephen Nash, Rob Parker, Corey Paterson, John Pendlebury, Michael Platt, Gareth Price, Adam Sidlow, Craig Stapleton, Simon Svabic, John Taylor, Iain Thornley, Mike Wainwright, Krisnan Inu, Junior Sau, Ed Chamberlain, Ben Nakubuwai, Gareth O’Brien, Mark Moran, Simon Finnigan, Ian Watson, Ryan Brierley and Mal Yates.

A match to remember Sunday 22nd June 2003.

Leigh 12 Salford 32.

The race for Super League between the two teams was at fever pitch in June 2003. Salford had hit form after a tough start to the league campaign. A draw at Whitehaven in round one on Good Friday had been followed by a very tight 18-16 defeat at Featherstone. Four straight victories had set this clash up nicely. The two sides had already met in the Arriva Trains Cup at Hilton Park and that match had ended in a 20-20 draw. A fierce rivalry had built up between the two sides and this match was pretty explosive to say the least.

The Centurions came out swinging and some of the tackles were pretty much borderline. Salford half back pairing of Gavin Clinch and Cliff Beverley we’re targeted. Clinch copped a few high shots from the Leigh pack but the Australian was tough and shrugged it off.

Salford were clinical and took their chances whilst Leigh huffed and puffed.

Their was plenty of tension between the two sets of supporters on the terraces and you could cut the atmosphere with a knife as they changed ends at half time brushing past one another behind the main stand.

The weather was hot and sunny. It seemed like that most of the season in 2003, it was a long hot summer to remember for Salford and their supporters.

This match really landed a knockout punch for Karl Harrison and his Salford side. It gave them the mental edge that would keep Leigh at arms length in future matches.

The Centurions scored tries from Shaun Richardson and Damien Munro. Salford’s tries came from Danny Arnold, Cliff Beverley, Gavin Clinch, Jason Flowers and Alan Hunte.

The two sides met again in the Arriva Trains final, the league and playoffs at the Willows and the Grand final at Widnes with Salford victorious in all of them to round off a thrilling season.

Looking back though, this match in June was the catalyst for promotion back to the big time.

The teams that day;

Leigh, Alstead, Munro, Hadcroft, Kendrick, Watts, Weisner, Swann, Nickle, Duffy, Norman, Richardson, Henare, Bristow.

Subs, Ball, Sanderson, Holdstock, Bradbury.

Salford, Flowers, Arnold, Littler, Hunte, Berne, Beverley, Clinch, Baynes, Alker, Coley, Baldwin, P. Highton, Charles.

Subs, Blakeley, D.Highton, Kirk, Haggerty.

Referee, Colin Morris.

Attendance, 4,000.

Friday’s match.

As I mentioned at the start of the preview the protest last Sunday was great to see. Now support is very much needed on Friday night at Leigh. It would be fantastic to pack the away end out and show the world of Rugby League how much our club means to us. We’ve got five matches left now before the season finishes and we need to treat them like Cup Finals. The three away games at Leigh, Warrington and Huddersfield are favourite away trips for most supporters. They aren’t too far to get to either so let’s try our best to make the difference. We can’t force the hand of these ‘Owners’ but we can show everyone how much we care. It’s took a while to get our desperate story in the national media but now it’s there we need to hammer it home. This club means far too much to give up on it.

It promises to be a very tough match against a Leigh side that is more than capable of pushing for the Grand Final. I am expecting them to be absolutely ruthless because points difference could determine their league position. 

The Leopards have seen some mixed results in recent weeks but against a young, inexperienced Salford side they will surely rack up a big score. For Salford supporters it’s going to be another tough match to watch. It’s crazy to say really in sport but the result doesn’t really come into the equation now. For us it’s all about surviving. I am expecting a lot to happen in the coming months but as a collective we are definitely stronger.

Safe travels and enjoy the match.

The action gets under way at 8pm.

Paul Whiteside. 

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