Salford Red Devils vs Leeds Rhinos preview

 Rohan Smith’s first assignment as a first grade coach is a trip across the Pennines to face a Salford Red Devils side that are winless in their last 6 games. The new Rhinos head coach is boosted by the return of a number of senior players including halfback Richie Myler and flying winger David Fusitu’a. 

Paul Rowley’s Salford side have failed to win a game since their 26-12 win over the Rhinos in round 6 at the AJ Bell stadium. After winning their first two games of the season wins have been hard to come by for the Red Devils and they currently sit 10th in the table, 1 place and 1 point below the Rhinos. 

What has characterised the Red Devils season so far is an attack that is capable of scoring plenty of tries that can’t keep up with the teams leaky defence. In their last 6 games Salford have conceded 30 points or more on four occasions. Despite these poor performances there is some cause to be optimistic for the Salford faithful as in their last two games they have lost to the top 2 in super league, WIgan and St Helens, by 6 and 4 points respectively.

Last time out against St Helens, Salford were involved in an uncharacteristically low scoring game in which 2 Tommy Makinson penalty goals were the difference between the two sides. Fullback Morgan Escare and former saint Matty Costello scored the tries against a St Helens side that perhaps had one eye on their Challenge Cup semi final against Wigan the following week.

As mentioned above, Salford were the victors when these two teams met in round 6. In a tight contest for most of the match the Rhinos capitulated in the final 15 minutes to concede 3 late tries that sealed the win for Salford. Looking back at the game the difference between the two teams were the halfbacks. When push came to shove Brodie Croft and Ryan Brierley were able to take control of the game and set up chances for their team. They were also helped by some poor defence from the Rhinos which has plagued the team throughout the season.

As we get closer to the game both teams have been able to announce the return of a number of key players. For Salford they have been able to name 5 key players in Brierley, Lafai, Burgess, Sneyd and their captain Elijah Taylor for the first time in a number of weeks.

The spine of Brierley, Sneyd and Brodie Croft has been the key for Salford when they are playing well and all three players have shown they are quality operators in their own right. Marc Sneyd’s kicking game in particular is good enough to cause problems for any team in Super league. Salford have also got a number of exciting outside backs to finish off the chances created by the halfbacks. Michael Sio is always in and around the list of top try scorers at the end of the year and Kallum Watkins will be a player who is more than familiar to the Leeds fans. The former captain of the Rhinos may not be at the peak of his powers but he is still an experienced centre that can cause problems for any defensive line.

The Rhinos also have several players returning from both injury and the judiciary. As well as Myler and Fusitu’a the trio of forwards Tom Holroyd, James Bentley and Zane Tetevano have been named in the 21 man squad. New signing Zak Hardaker has also been cleared to play after suffering from seizures and many fans will be hoping that he will be able to take to the field for his first appearance in the blue and Amber since 2016.

Sunday’s game is the first chance for Rowan Smith to set down a marker for the rest of the season. The Australian has had two weeks with the squad to start to impart his wisdom on his new squad and begin to bed in his structures and philosophies. As well as the returning players Smith is also inheriting a squad that will be brimming with confidence after winning two games in a row for the first time this season.

Individual battles will be the key to victory for Leeds on Sunday and the most important is that between the two sets of halfbacks. After such a positive performance against Hull KR it is key that Blake Austin can once again take control of this Leeds team and direct them around the pitch. His kicking game will be vital in order to build pressure on the Salford side and allow Leeds to control the territory battle. 

Although I can see this being a close game I think that Leeds will have too much class for an out of form Salford side. Players on the fringes of the Leeds squad who are playing because of injury and suspensions will also have the chance to impress their new coach and stake their claim for an extended stay in the Leeds starting line up. My prediction for the game is a 16-6 win for the Rhinos which would see them get to 9 points and very much clear of the bottom 3 sides.

Thank you for reading and remember All Leeds aren’t we.