Paul Rowley pinpoints where Salford Red Devils went wrong in play-off defeat

Paul Rowley knows his Salford Red Devils side have overachieved this season, but that doesn’t make play-off defeat to Leigh Leopards any easier to swallow. The Red Devils were beaten 14-6 on home soil by the Leopards, with second half tries being scored by Josh Charnley, Gareth O’Brien and Edwin Ipape.

Ethan Ryan touched down late for Salford to add to Marc Sneyd’s first half penalty, but ultimately it wasn’t enough as Leigh marched on to the semi-finals of the Super League play-offs. Of course, Salford, who finished fourth overall in the regular season, beat the odds and proved doubters wrong by claiming a play-off spot in the first place.

But, that’s no consolation for Rowley, who had high hopes of seeing his side progress to within 80 minutes of a Grand Final appearance at Old Trafford.

“It is on paper but we’re all about winning,” Rowley said on Sky Sports if 2024 was a success despite Friday night’s result. “It’s hard to get rid of this moment before you start reflecting but obviously when that time comes in a couple of weeks then we’ve overachieved.

“Overachieving is good so it’s been a successful year in that respect but success to me is winning trophies.”

Reflecting on the game, the Salford Red Devils head coach added: “I’m very proud of them. I thought we had the better of the first half and Leigh had the better of the second half, obviously.

“I think with 10 minutes to go we were down 10-3 on the penalty count and that put us under a lot of pressure in the second half and people like Edwin Ipape are too good when they get the lion’s share of possession. I’m proud of the boys. I think it was a really good game, a cup final affair almost. Credit to Leigh and good luck to them in the next round.

“In the first half I thought we pulled the trigger a play too late on occasions but that was an easy fix. I thought our defence was good and ultimately these games are won on defence.

“Whilst we weren’t as sharp as we could have been in the first half I think in the second half we could have nailed that. However, territory and possession, I think we had 25 per cent possession, it’s the way it goes.”