Following an impressive 50-12 victory over local rivals Swinton Lions, Salford Red Devils Head Coach Ian Watson praised the performances of his new additions.
Levy Nzoungou, Ben Nakubuwai, Gavin Bennion, Jack Littlejohn and Derrell Olpherts all wore the Red Devils shirt for the first time and Watson was impressed with all of them.
Watson said: “A few of them impressed me to be fair. I thought Derrell took his opportunities well he was strong in his back field play as well.
“Levy did well as well when he came on in his spell he was good in his wrestle and ran strongly and was really difficult to put down but all of the guys have stepped up and put their hand up to say I’m here.”
“Gavin Bennion finished off with a nice try at the end there as well but we did have a bit of a scare at the beginning as we thought he’d done his neck but it seems alright now.
“So all the new guys who have come in on the backend of last season have adapted really well and jumped on board with what we’re trying to do and what we’re about as a Club so it’s good.”
Overall Watson was happy to give the majority of his squad a runout and help them continue to gel as a team under the pressure of an actual game.
Watson said: “It was important just to get a little bit of continuity between some of the guys and the spine of the team in a game situation so having a good run there and coming through it healthy is a big plus for us.
“I thought the way we kind of set up from the beginning the team outlined what we wanted to get out of the game which was to start well and we started really well and I’d say the teams application on the back of it was the main thing for us today.”
One player who didn’t feature despite being named in the matchday squad was Kriss Brining however Watson cleared up any injury worries surrounding the former York City Knights hooker.
Watson said: “Kriss Brining just had a little twinge in his neck but he ’s fine if it had been a cup final he could have probably played but it was pointless risking him in a pre-season friendly when you’ve got Josh Wood playing the way he did and Logan out there as well.”
