Following their first Super League win of the season, Head Coach, Paul Rowley has praised his Salford side for being ‘fantastic professionals’ and working to stay connected on the pitch.
Though they haven’t had the best start to the season, the Reds are rising up the Super League table, even if by just one place, after gaining a valuable two points in their Round 5 game against the Huddersfield Giants.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Rowley, detailed how he thinks the fans will have appreciated seeing the true Salford Red Devils out on the pitch.
He said: “You could see that we looked like a team that was connected, not just turned up and pick a shirt up and play in that position just to get on the field.
“I thought we looked connected in the middles. Certainly the starting pack worked tremendously well together and then I think the outside backs really showed some of our DNA.
“And that detail what we’re speaking about, and the work that we did in the week then showed itself on the field and that was appreciated by the fans.”
Despite all the noise off the pitch, Rowley says that the players have just remained ‘good pros’ throughout it all. He added: “They’ve done their job, they’ve been consistent in their actions.
“You can’t control distractions because distractions are real – they are a thing and they do take your focus away from the job at hand.
“But they’ve tried their utmost best to stay on task, stay focused and they’ve caused no issues, problems and they’ve just been fantastic professionals and they’ve been great to everybody.”
Following two tries and a great display of skill against the Giants on Thursday night, half-back Jayden Nikorima was awarded Man of the Match.
Rowley spoke highly of Nikorima, stating: “He just backs himself – he’s quick, he’s remarkably quick and the best attribute for quick people is to back yourself to run.
“So maybe a lot of it sometimes is confidence with quick people. They don’t think they realise how difficult they are to handle. He’s definitely caused a few problems for the Huddersfield defence tonight and I thought he was outstanding.”
Another key player on the pitch was Chris Atkin, who helped get Salford the win on his 100th Super League appearance for the team – an outstanding milestone!
Rowley detailed Atkin’s value to him and the team: “He’s been very good in my tenure, he’s been very good to me. Sometimes, if he’s on the bench, I give him nothing, I’ll just say as and when and I don’t know what position he’ll go yet.
“So he’s well-rehearsed in three or four different positions and ready to go at any point. So again, he’s a good pro and that’s what we’ve got, a team of good pros.”
