Head Coach Ian Watson was pleased to see his sides display against Castleford Tigers while also feeling frustrated that they didn’t come away from the Mend-A-Hose Jungle with a victory.
He gave his thoughts on a number of subjects in the post-match press conference.
On the performance…
There were a few little errors and defensive lapses and I think they gave Castleford the win. The one thing I have said to the boys is that we have to believe we are a good team and we’re showing it now against Castleford away from home and against St Helens at home which was a game we learnt a lot from. We are quite a young team but we’ve got to believe that we can come to Castleford and win and I think we just didn’t start the game with that mentality as we put them on the front foot and they started playing like a top team does putting you under pressure and getting repeat sets which Paul McShane was central to. Once we got the game in the balance a little bit, we started to control that and got on the front foot and dictating field position as well. It’s our own fault we’ve lost the game.
On the difference between the sides…
They’ve been a top team for the last few years. We’re still quite a young team in many ways with our spine being quite young with Joey Lussick and Jackson Hastings in there. We just need to be a little bit more patient at times instead of chasing the game. Paul McShane did that really well, they started completing sets and earning repeat sets through goal line drop-outs. They persisted and sometimes you just have to deal with that and try and turn the tide, but I want to give massive credit to our players for competing. I do think that game will hit home with the lads to see they’re a good side coming to Castleford and almost winning the game.
On the start to the season…
Yeah, we’re happy with the start to the season but we want more – everybody always wants more. We all want to win every game we go into but I’m hoping the games we’ve played, and the performances and results can kick us on for the remainder of the season. We can show everyone what we’re about then and show that we’re a team that can be contenders. I think if we go about games the way we have in spells and piece that together we’ll be a strong team and we’ll trouble a few more this season.
On Adam Walker…
I thought he looked dangerously with ball in hand and defensively I thought there were a few times where he lounged in but that’s fatigue and taking that into contact. We’ll see how it pans out when he’s got match fitness. He will get better, and he’ll be a great addition for us.
On the result…
I think we’re really disappointed with the result because we know we’ve let an opportunity slip through our own little errors and misreads. I think we’re good enough to compete with these teams now, but we just need to believe that we are good enough on a regular basis, but we need to show that next week against Wigan Warriors when they come to the The Salford Stadium. I think we’ve had a tough month here with St Helens, then Catalans away and now Castleford away so we can’t wait to get back to the The Salford Stadium and show what we’ve learnt from the last three games.
On Jake Bibby’s performance…
Jake Bibby is a great kid and he’s had to wait for his opportunity to get into the team. He’s got the shirt at the moment if I’m honest as he’s doing fantastic in both attack and defence. We always knew defensively he was brilliant, and we’ve worked on the attacking side of his game – he’s been working closely with Martin Gleeson and spending a lot of time with him. He’s showing us what he’s learned over the last couple of years.
On a possible sin-bin offence by Alex Foster…
I thought so at the time but that’s not the reason we’ve lost the game. We need to be smarter in certain areas so I can’t use that as a reason as to why we weren’t victorious. It was definitely a good contest.
Tickets are available for Salford Red Devils next home game against Wigan Warriors at 3pm on Sunday 22nd April. You can buy tickets from the AJ Bell Stadium Ticket Office, over the phone on 0161 786 1570 or by buying online HERE. You will save money buying in advance!
