Salford Red Devils were beaten 52-10 by St. Helens on Sunday in their only and final pre-season game as they prepare for the 2024 season.
In the first half the Red Devils conceded five tries to a strong Saints side, as England vice-captain Jack Welsby ran in two tries.
The England internationals Daryl Clark, Tommy Makinson and Joe Batchelor got on the scoresheet in the first 40 to give Saints a sizeable 28-0 lead at the break.
New Saints captain, Jonny Lomax, was at the heart of the game in the first half, as he grabbed a try assist and set up the break that led to Welsby’s second try.
Despite the early onslaught from St. Helens, Salford did have some territory in the first half, thanks to the kicking game of halfback Marc Sneyd. However, they failed to convert this into points.
The first Salford try of the day came from new signing young back-rower Matty Foster. As the Salford Centre Tim Lafai broke the Saints defence down the left hand side to send Foster through for the Red Devils first try of 2024.
Both teams named interchange benches full of young talent with youngsters from both sides making first team debuts. The Red Devils Nene MacDonald, Chris Hankinson, Joe Mellor, Kai Morgan, Matty Foster and Joe Shorrocks all made their debuts.
In the second half Saints added more tries after Foster had scored to take their tally to 52 points with new signing Matt Whitley grabbing his first Saints score and youngsters Dayon Sambou, Jonny Vaughan and Owen Dagnall also getting on the scoresheet for the world club champions.
The Red Devils did get a consolation try at the end as Scott Egan dived on a grubber kick from Salford youngster Nathan Connell to Salford’s second score of the day.
Salford coach Paul Rowley said: “We felt like the things that we wasn’t doing right were easily fixable” and added, “physically we held our own when got our full side out, no problem. I thought technically we just missed a beat on a few things.”
Next up for Salford is Leeds Rhinos at Headingley on Friday February 16th as they begin their Betfred Super League campaign.
Salford line-up: Ryan Brierley, Deon Cross, Nene Macdonald, Tim Lafai, Chris Hankinson, Chris Atkin, Marc Sneyd, Brad Singleton, Joe Mellor, King Vuniyayawa, Sam Stone, Kallum Watkins, Oliver Partington.
Interchanges: Amir Bourouh, Joe Shorrocks, Jack Ormondroyd, Matty Foster, Shane Wright, Ben Hellewell, Andrew Dixon, Kai Morgan, Ethan Fitzgerald, Scott Egan, Josh Wagstaffe, Mason Phillips, Dan Harrison, Nathan Connell, Jack Gatcliffe, Charlie Glover, Finley Yates, Jack Edge, Lucas Coan, Jordan Brown, John Hutchings, Lenubou Bardyel Wells, Tom Worthington.
Tries: Matty Foster, Scott Egan.
Conversions: Marc Sneyd (1/1), Gatcliffe (0/1).
St Helens line-up: Jack Welsby, Tommy Makinson, Konrad Hurrell, Waqa Blake, Jon Bennison, Jonny Lomax, Lewis Dodd, Alex Walmsley, Daryl Clark, George Delaney, Joe Batchelor, Curtis Sironen, James Bell.
Interchanges: Moses Mbye, Brett Bailey, Jake Wingfield, Matt Whitley, Ben Davies, Sam Royle, Jake Burns, Tee Ritson, McKenzie Buckley, Dayon Sambou, George Whitby, Jonny Vaughan, Noah Stephens, Harvey Braddish, Harry Robertson, Owen Dagnall, Ben Will, Ciaran Nolan, Sam Oakes.
Tries: Jack Welsby (2), Daryl Clark, Tommy Makinson, Joe Batchelor, Matt Whitley, Dayon Sambou, Jonny Vaughan, Owen Dagnall.
Conversions: Tommy Makinson (4/5), George Whitby (4/4)
HT: St Helens 28-0 Salford Red Devils.
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