Salford Red Devils boss Paul Rowley talked about unearthing talent this season following his side’s loss against Leeds Rhinos on Friday night.
A 42-6 loss might seem like a heavy defeat, but Rowley was still able to pick plenty of positives out of the game.
Salford’s first-half performance in particular was solid, and there was a first start for young rugby union convert Declan Murphy.
Rowley was full of praise for Murphy, along with the sheer number of youngsters that he’s been able to give an opportunity to, despite the club’s circumstances in 2025.
He said:Â “We’ve had a few of them this year. I don’t want to talk too much about Declan because he’s a secret at the minute. It’s great that we’ve signed him on that 12-year deal!
“He’s a young kid, he’s living his dream, he’s come from rugby union obviously. He’s got that commodity, hasn’t he? Speed, bravery and skill. He’s got all the attributes.
“The situation that we find ourselves in has enabled people like him, Sam Hill and others the opportunity to come onto a stage.
“If we unearth some unbelievable talents like that and start our rebuild around people like that, then it gives us some hope.”
Despite Murphy’s standout performance, the Red Devils just didn’t have enough gas in the tank in the second half as Leeds scored five unanswered tries to secure the victory.
Salford Red Devils boss on Leeds’ star-studded team and taking pride in the shirt
When asked if the Rhinos were just too quick for them in the second half, Rowley added: “Yeah, they did. I’ll be honest, I spoke about it at half-time, we absolutely wanted to turn up the dial and take them to the death.
“We said all the right things and the intentions are there, but I just think the squad size, the health of our team, and without disrespecting our bench, they had a few more difference makers.
“We’re really disappointed with the end result, but I think our boys had a dig. There are a lot of things to admire about our boys over the period of a game, but sustaining those good moments, we just can’t do, unfortunately.”
However, despite the defeat, the Salford Red Devils boss was full of admiration for this group of players and staff, who are still showing up every week and giving whatever they have.
He finished:Â “I think to make it easier for us, the staff and the players, it’s the age-old thing: if we can get the best of them and they can give their best, then we can’t have many complaints.
“I think when we get consistency of a team, which we’ve kind of had as of late, we can start adding some layers of detail to it. The detail is quite often the difference between getting over the whitewash or not.
“Leeds are very star-studded, they’re a great team, they’re the real deal this year. I admire them as a team and the work that Brad’s done with them.”
Rhinos run away with it in the second-half. pic.twitter.com/T15PvnTiPm
— Salford Red Devils 👹 (@SalfordDevils) July 18, 2025
