Salford were beaten by a dominant St Helens side in Round 16 of the Betfred Super League.
Head Coach, Paul Rowley handed a debut to Danny Richardson and was able to recall Jayden Nikorima and Ethan Ryan back to the starting line-up after their respective injuries.
It was the Reds who had the first real chance of posting points just three minutes into the contest. A slip by Tristan Sailor at the play-the-ball handed us a full set just 20 away, but a miscommunication by Nikorima and Harvey Wilson saw the ball bobble dead.
Going down the other end, Salford were called offside and allowed Saints to set a platform for an attack of their own. After a shift right was chopped down by Jonny Vaughan, Kyle Feldt spotted an opportunity to scoot from the dummy-half to stretch over.
Attempting to regroup, Kobe Rugless – making his first Salford start at hooker – managed to intercept a Matty Lees offload to get us on the front foot. However, the attack petered out, and it wasn’t long until the hosts were back camped in Salford territory.
Deon Cross found space on the left edge and his flicked offload allowed Owen Dagnall to charge into the corner, despite the best attempts of Ryan Brierley.
Two quickly became three when Sailor tested the right edge with a short side play and found the pass just at the right time for Feldt to dot down.
With Salford tiring towards the end of the first forty, Moses Mbye caught the defensive line out cold and played an inside ball for Morgan Knowles to score under the sticks.
Saints didn’t let up after the break; Sailor and Knowles at the heart of the hosts’ latest score, slipping Clark through the middle to extend the lead.
Dagnall scored his second minutes later when a slice of luck saw his off-the-cuff kick bounce nicely for him to slam down in the left corner.
Centre, Harry Robertson was the next to breach Salford’s defence, slipping through and spinning in the tackle to find the supporting Sailor, who ran it under the sticks.
Sailor could’ve scored his second when he was slipped through once more, but he instead passed it back to young Jake Burns to dot down.
The same source quickly showed he didn’t need the help by scooting over from dummy-half to extend the lead further.
Fullback, Sailor then did secure his second when the Saints created numbers on the right edge. Taking it to the line, he threw a dummy and dotted down for his brace.
Akin to a fortnight ago at the Salford Community Stadium, Feldt completed his hat-trick to complete the scoring minutes from time.
It’s a short turnaround for the Reds into a home clash with the Warrington Wolves, next Friday.
MATCH FACTS:
Saints XIII: Tristan Sailor, Kyle Feldt, Harry Robertson, Deon Cross, Owen Dagnall, Jonny Lomax, Moses Mbye, Alex Walmsley, Daryl Clark, Matty Lees, Matt Whitley, Jake Wingfield, Morgan Knowles.
Interchanges: Agnatius Paasi, George Delaney, Noah Stephens, Jake Burns.
Tries: Kyle Feldt (3), Owen Dagnall (2), Morgan Knowles, Daryl Clark, Tristan Sailor (2), Jake Burns (2).
Conversions: Kyle Feldt (0/2), Jonny Lomax (7/9).
Salford XIII: Ryan Brierley (C), Ethan Ryan, Chris Hankinson, Esan Marsters, Jonny Vaughan, Jayden Nikorima, Danny Richardson, Jack Ormondroyd, Kobe Rugless, Chris Hill, Matty Foster, Dan Russell, Harvey Wilson.
Interchanges:Nathan Connell, Charlie Glover, Tom Whitehead, Justin Sangare.
HT: 20-0
FT: 58-0
