Salford v Barrow.

I don’t know about you but I didn’t expect us to score fifty points last weekend. It was a tremendous performance of attacking rugby scoring ten tries against Workington. It just shows how far we’ve come since the spring when we were conceding points and being bullied by most teams particularly up the middle. Our pack now looks a lot more robust and the permanent signing of Sam Bowring has been absolutely pivotal. Sam’s voice on the pitch along with his physical presence seems to steady the young players and add to that Brad Dwyer’s energy and experience it’s given Salford a huge boost. Dwyer’s ability to get the team on the front foot has given opposing teams all sorts of problems. I think the work Dwyer does off the pitch is probably even more important. Speaking to some of the younger lads in the squad they’ve all singled out Brad for praise and highlighted how much he is helping them. 

This week Cole Appleby joined me and Matt on the Bring On The Salford podcast. Cole once again shone as a terrific character with a first class attitude. He spoke about the bond between the players and staff. It is great to hear how all the players look out for each other. Even the players that are out injured at the moment don’t get left behind. It’s such a tight knit group and what’s been forged in the last six months makes me so proud to be a supporter.

One player who really stood out against Workington was Owain Abel. After a torrid time with a serious injury Owain has been eased into the first team by Dave Hewitt making a couple of appearances off the bench. In those games he looked really sharp and when he got his first start last Sunday he played in the halves. He was a constant threat for the whole eight minutes. He created tries, made breaks, kicked well and grabbed a well deserved try of his own. His explosive pace and ability to beat defenders make him a very valuable asset to the squad. With Toby Hughes set to return this weekend and youngster Lewis Pilling playing really well it will be very interesting to see who starts in the halves. Abel can play fullback so I suppose Kieran Dixon could possibly move to the wing. I am glad I don’t have to pick the starting seventeen!

Post war League home record.

Salford 20

Draws 1

Barrow 11

1990 Salford 76 Barrow 10

1986 Salford 12 Barrow 24

1981 Salford 20 Barrow 9

1978 Salford 24 Barrow 7

1977 Salford 38 Barrow 13

1972 Salford 51 Barrow 10

1970 Salford 21 Barrow 11

1969 Salford 14 Barrow 7

1969 Salford 14 Barrow 14

1968 Salford 6 Barrow 5

1966 Salford 12 Barrow 7

1966 Salford 4 Barrow 17

1965 Salford 9 Barrow 10

1963 Salford 15 Barrow 23

1962 Salford 13 Barrow 20

1962 Salford 16 Barrow 15

1960 Salford 9 Barrow 0

1959 Salford 13 Barrow 5

1958 Salford 19 Barrow 10 ( First time on television for a club game)

1957 Salford 18 Barrow 15

1956 Salford 9 Barrow 8

1956 Salford 10 Barrow 13

1954 Salford 6 Barrow 16

1954 Salford 8 Barrow 0

1952 Salford 8 Barrow 10

1951 Salford 0 Barrow 13

1950 Salford 12 Barrow 18

1949 Salford 16 Barrow 7

1948 Salford 8 Barrow 0

1948 Salford 21 Barrow 5

1946 Salford 23 Barrow 5

1945 Salford 5 Barrow 17

They played for both.

In recent times plenty of players have represented both clubs, below is a list with quite a few on from years gone by too. Also a few loan signings in there.

Andy Ballard, Cliff Beverley, Radney Bowker, Joe Bullock, Greg Burke, David Cairns, 

Adam Clay,  Matty Costello, Carl Forster, Ade Gardner, Bobbie Goulding, James Greenwood, Matthew Haggerty, Chris Hankinson, Ben Hellewell, Steve Herbert, Niall Evalds, Harold Henney, Josh Johnson, Matthew Leigh, Dean McGilvray, Harvey Makin, Iain Marsh, Lee Mossop, Michael Platt, Jamie Pye, Ellis Robson, Garry Schubert, Jack Spencer, Iain Thornley, Adam Walker, Jordan Walne, Adam Walne, Jason Walton, Stewart Williams, Josh Wood, Chris Whiteley.

A match to remember Friday 3rd April 1981.

Salford 20 Barrow 9.

The late 1970s and early 80s were a real transition for Salford and their supporters. The previous season Salford had been top of the First Division around Christmas time and eventually finished fourth. The 1980/81 season had been a struggle in the league but on their day Salford were capable of beating anyone. They proved this with a fantastic run in the Challenge Cup beating Bradford and Leigh before losing to the eventual runners up Hull Kingston Rovers. Five days after the cup defeat in East Hull Salford turned the Robins over at the Willows 20-15 in a famous win. 

Going into the run in at the start of April Salford and Barrow were both struggling at the foot of the table to avoid relegation. Salford’s squad was a real mix of youth and experience. Some players were at the very start of their rugby league journey whilst the likes of Mike Coulman, Maurice Richards, Frank Wilson and Bill Francis were all in the twilight of fantastic careers. 

 Coulman rolled back the years with a try in a blockbusting performance at prop. He was approaching his 37th birthday and now in his 13th season with the club. Mal Yates was a young forward really making a name for himself and he also scored in this match. Harold Henney also crossed for a try but the match winner was fullback Steve Rule who kicked four goals and grabbed a try. Barrow scored three tries but missed all the conversions.

Salford finished the season really strongly beating Leigh 13-12 the following week on Good Friday before drawing the final match of the 80/81 campaign 18-18 at Watersheddings against Oldham on Easter Monday. Salford were relegated along with bottom side Oldham. Workington and Halifax also dropped down to the Second Division. Barrow managed to survive mainly due to their strong home form winning 10 out of 15 matches at Craven Park.

The teams that night;

Salford, Rule, Wilson, Major, Francis, Richards, Fletcher, Nash, Coulman, O’Neill, Yates, Henney, McGreal, Williams.

Subs, Smith, Thomas.

Barrow, Tickle, Moore, Wainwright, Ball, Camilleri, McConnell, Mason, Chisnall, Allen, Lupton, Flynn, Szymala, Hadley,

Sub, James.

Attendance, 2,560

Referee, Mick Beaumont.

Sunday’s match.

This week promises to be another huge test. With all due respect to Workington, Barrow are definitely a level above them. The Raiders have a very capable squad full of experience and they know how to win at Championship level. 

Barrow sit third in the table with 13 wins from 16 matches. 

The weather promises to be a lot better than when the two sides met at the end of January. It was a wet, miserable and cold Saturday evening kick off. The pitch ended up being very heavy towards the end of the match. Nevertheless it was a very enjoyable away trip with a crowd of over 2,000 turning up, their biggest home gate of the season so far. Barrow won that night 38-4. The Raiders are in good form with five league wins on the spin including a very impressive away win at Doncaster 12-36.

Coach Paul Crarey has recently strengthened his squad with the signing of former Salford forward Brad Singleton. Winger Tee Ritson has been in fantastic try scoring form in 2026. The thirty year old is now in his thirteenth season as a professional and is heading towards one hundred and fifty club tries. 

Barrow captain Ryan Johnston is a real talisman, a very reliable goal kicker too. His half back partnership with Brad Walker is one of the most effective in the Championship. Forward Jarrad Stack is now thirty eight. He’s played almost four hundred matches at this level for both Workington and Barrow combined. This level of experience and knowledge runs right through this Raiders side. 

There is no doubt Salford need a season best performance to have any chance of winning this match but looking back to last Sunday every player in the seventeen played their weight. The main concern was the five tries that were conceded. Quite a few of them were pretty soft really and from our own mistakes a bit like the previous week at Hunslet. With the attack now firing well it’s important to get that defence right if we are to make the top ten in the league table. 

The action gets under way at 3pm

Safe travels and enjoy the game.

Paul Whiteside. 

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