Salford Red Devils Head Coach, Paul Rowley shared an honest assessment of his side’s performance following the clubs 58-0 defeat.
The Red Devils saw returning faces but were unable to withstand the pressure and physicality of Saint Helens.
Kyle Feldt scored a hat-trick, with Tristan Sailor, Owen Dagnall and Jake Burns also bagging braces in a flurry of Saints tries, particularly in the second half.
The defeat, and difference between the two sides – already losing to the Saints 82-0 on the opening day, and a 46-4 loss at the Salford Community Stadium.
The loss for Paul Rowley’s side has also marked the side 15th defeat of the season, only being able to win one this campaign – with a 23-10 win over Huddersfield Giants.
Following the performance, the Salford head coach said: “I am disappointed because I felt like we had some green shoots, certainly in terms of the team we were able to put out.
“Bringing back Ethan (Ryan), Jayden (Nikorima), and Danny Richardson joining in, and then in training you see it steps up a level and everything’s a little bit sharper.”
He added: “I think that’s why it hurts really because we had a team capable of much more than what we showed out there.”
And the difference between the two sides was apparent as the Saints were able to step it up another level and grow a considerable distance in the second half, which was noticeable to the Salford Head Coach very early on.
Paul Rowley continued: “I just thought the first half set the scene if I am being honest. Saints threw nothing at us that we didn’t know that was coming.
“They play the game, they can’t reinvent the wheel, they are a physical side, and they test you physically. We know what we had to do in terms of defending shapes.”
He added: “The challenge is always physically, and we didn’t win that or apply ourselves right from the start and so you always get your reward at the end in terms of a team looking good.”
And he continued to be critical of his team’s performance, but was also happy to praise the opposition, as Paul Rowley said: “I just thought that the whole game, I don’t think we was anywhere near, and full credit to the Saints for being good at what they do.”
However, despite the twelfth consecutive defeat the team will be looking to regain some momentum – and will be hoping to use their head coaches’ words to relight their fire going into the next fixture.
And with a Friday night home fixture against the Warrington Wolves, Salford will be looking to regain some confidence and secure their second win of the season in front of home support.
The source of the feature image and more of Paul Rowley’s interview can be found here.
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