Troubled Salford Red Devils were thumped 80-6 by Hull FC at the MKM Stadium on Sunday afternoon
Here’s our talking points
Salford cap a bad week in the worst way possible
What else is there to say about Salford? There can be no knocking the effort and determination of those players and coaches at the MKM Stadium. Those on the field worked tirelessly for the Salford cause, despite many only joining the club over the last couple of days, but this club has been decimated by an ownership group that is simply not fit for purpose.
Salford saw four key men leave the club this week in the shape of Ryan Brierley, Jack Ormondroyd, Chris Hill and Chris Hankinson and with other senior players on the sidelines, they simply didn’t have the tools at their disposal to provide any sort of real competition.
A proud and historic club has been stripped of dignity and pushed to the brink.
Fans chant
The fans are the real losers in this but what looked to be around 200/300 fans made the trip from Greater Manchester to cheer on their side. The Red Devils faithful could be heard chanting ‘you’re not fit to run the club’, towards the club’s current custodians.
That chant got support from the home support, who greeted it with applause. The Black and Whites fans were willing their team on to win of course, but they showed empathy with those in red and black and applauded them onto the field for the start of the second half. The whole stadium stood up to give Brad Dwyer an ovation when he scored with two minutes to go, too.
Those Salford fans did themselves proud, chanting throughout the game and making themselves heard.
Following the final whistle Hull and Salford players could be seen gathered in a circle in the middle of the field in a touching moment of real unity and support.
Ruthless Hull FC
The Black and Whites could only beat what was in front of them but to their credit, they did so with a professional performance. By half-time they had scored 50 points with nine tries being recorded and they never took their foot off the gas after the break as they went close to breaking the Super League record for the most one-sided victory.
That record still belongs to St Helens who beat Salford 82-0 on the opening weekend of the season but for a long period it seemed as though Hull were going to better that.
Lewis Martin scored four on the day, while Harvey Barron, Davy Litten and Jed Cartwright all got braces. Cade Cust, Amir Bourouh, Herman Ese’ese and Tom Briscoe touched down on the day too, with the latter scoring his 100th try for the Black and Whites.
Martin in the top try scorer race
The four tries Lewis Martin grabbed means he now leads the Super League top tryscorer charts. He has 20 for the season in Super League and that puts him one ahead of Mikey Lewis who was the outright leader prior to kick-off.
Martin has also broken the Hull FC record for the most tries in a season, bettering Tom Lineham’s tally by reaching 27 in all competitions.
Sezer blow
Hull FC welcomed Will Pryce and John Asiata back into the action for the first time since May and John Cartwright revealed in his pre-match press conference that Liam Knight would miss out.
However, Aidan Sezer was a telling absentee when the team sheets came through 90 minutes before kick-off, with the half-back being ruled out with what is believed to a shoulder issue. The extent of the injury will be a topic of conversation for John Cartwright after the game.
Play-off race wide open
Hull were always going to win this one given the disruption in the Salford squad but Wakefield’s loss to St Helens on Friday night means the Black and Whites are now back in the six.
They sit a point above of Wakefield Trinity with six games to go, but with Wakefield playing Salford next week, they know they need to beat Leigh Leopards at the MKM Stadium to guarantee they remain there next week.
