Ken Sio was the undisputed man of the match as Salford Red Devils made it back-to-back Super League victories after defeating Toulouse Olympique 38-12 at the AJ Bell Stadium on Sunday.
In what was Salford’s first home game of the 2022 Super League campaign, the Red Devils came out the blocks with a bang. It took less than two minutes to get themselves on the scoreboard as winger Sio neatly gathered Marc Sneyd’s impressive grubber kick to bag the first try of the afternoon.
He scored his second try in Salford’s next meaningful attack, grounding the ball in the corner, following a pacy breakaway from Brodie Croft.
11' SALFORD TRY!!!
Brodie Croft dances his way through the middle of the Toulouse pack, sprinting 40 metres before he is forced to offload to Sio, who crashes over in the right corner once more!
8-0#SLSalTou
🤝 Telecom Solutions
— Salford Red Devils 👹 (@SalfordDevils) February 20, 2022
Following the game, Salford head coach Paul Rowley described Sio as “one of those players that every club wants in their side.”
The floodgates seemingly opened for the hosts when tries from home debutants Ryan Brierley and Sneyd put them 20-0 up.
However Chris Atkinson converted his own try just before the break to ensure a perseverant Toulouse side did not go into half-time with nothing to show for their efforts.
It was Sylvain Houles’ side who started the second period as they had ended the first, and a try from Joseph Paulo reduced the deficit to just 20-12.
Despite this mini-scare, Paul Rowley’s men put themselves back in the driving seat as centre Tim Lafai became the third home debutant to get himself on today’s scoresheet.
Star-man Sio then burst away to secure an impressive hat-trick but the Australian wasn’t done there and went one better as he went over the line for a fourth try just moments later.
Had to be Man of the Match @ken_sio1 to bang the drum! 🥁 #SLSalTou
— Salford Red Devils 👹 (@SalfordDevils) February 20, 2022
Rowley admitted that the stormy weather conditions did affect his side’s ability to play flowing rugby, describing today’s weather as “biblical conditions,” nonetheless Salford’s head coach was thoroughly impressed by many aspects of his side’s game.
Speaking after the match, Rowley said: “Defensively we were very good. We finished off strong.
“There are twelve great teams in the Super League and we’ve beaten two of them. We’re always confident whoever we play.”
Salford Red Devils’ attention now turns to Saturday 26 February as they travel to Hull FC in the hope of continuing their impressive start to the 2022 Super League campaign.
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