Salford Red Devils took on Huddersfield Giants at the AJ Bell Stadium live on Channel 4 this afternoon.
Ken Sio crossed in the third minute following a great move which involved Brodie Croft and Deon Cross before Joe Burgess picked up a loose ball to run 60 metres and send the Red Devils into a 10-0 lead.
A Croft kick was perfectly weighted for Kallum Watkins to hack on, pick up and dot down as Salford scored their third try in just ten minutes.
Chris McQueen was able to steal the ball to run in at the corner against the run of play to bring the Giants back into it, but Oliver Russell missed the conversion as Salford led 16-4.
Two more Red Devils tries made it 26-4 as Huddersfield found themselves clinging on until the end of the half.
A Russell penalty just before the break gave the Giants hope, and, the visitors registered two quick tries at the start of the second-half to come back to within ten points at 26-16.
Sneyd add another penalty to ensure Huddersfield had to score two converted tries to even level and then the halfback slotted over a drop goal before Harvey Livett followed up a pinpoint Sneyd kick to inflate the scoring to 33-16.
Highlights
Joe Burgess racing 60 metres after picking up a loose ball epitomised his lightning pace.
Chris McQueen stealing the ball and running 20 metres was a great poacher’s try.
Sam Hewitt’s try was a thing of beauty; it involved a brilliant Leroy Cudjoe break and offload and a stellar Theo Fages kick.
Talking points
1. Watkins on fire
Kallum Watkins has made the move to the back-row and what a position shift it has been! The Salford man is arguably one of the most in-form back-rowers in Super League and he will definitely be attracting the interest of Shaun Wane for the England side at the end of the year for the World Cup.
2. Salford’s electric attack
Salford have been attracting a great deal of attention for the way in which they have been playing in 2022 and there’s a good reason why. The Red Devils were superb with the ball in hand and that was evident throughout the game.
3. Huddersfield’s dismal starts
Huddersfield have been able to get back into games in recent weeks, but they left themselves too much to do today against Salford. For the past three games, the Giants have fallen behind convincingly in the first-half and head coach Ian Watson will be wondering why.
6 Tui Lolohea – 6
22 Louis Senior – 6
21 Leroy Cudjoe – 8
37 Toby King – 7
25 Innes Senior – 6
23 Olly Russell – 6
7 Theo Fages – 7
17 Owen Trout – 6
19 Adam O’Brien – 6
8 Chris Hill – 7
29 Sam Hewitt – 9
12 Chris McQueen – 8
13 Luke Yates – 7
Substitutes
9 Danny Levi – 7
15 Joe Greenwood – 6
20 Oliver Wilson – 6
27 Jack Ashworth – 4
