
Salford Red Devils earned their fourth win in a row and joined the chasing pack in joint second with a 22-20 win over Hull FC but the club will be tested in the upcoming weeks with two star players injured.
Paul Rowley’s side are somewhat of an enigma in that they often play to the level of their opposition, putting in incredible performances against some of their top six rivals but falling flat against teams from the bottom half.
That’s been evident on a number of occasions this year with the club doing the double over St Helens but losing out to then-winless Castleford back in Round Seven. Today was an example of the latter but crucially Salford managed to squeak the win thanks to Marc Sneyd’s boot once again.
On his 300th career appearance, Sneyd kicked five of six meaning to hand Salford Red Devils the win despite scoring one less try than their opponents. There was a major difference in the performance though and that was due to the absence of star centres Tim Lafai and Nene Macdonald, who Rowley has provided a concerning update on.
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Salford Red Devils without stars for “several weeks”

Credit: Imago Images
Tim Lafai missed out on the win over St Helens with the Samoan centre suffering an injury in the warm-up of that match, however, there was surprise and concern when his running mate Nene Macdonald wasn’t named in the 21-man squad for today’s game.
The duo have been two of the competition’s best players all season with Macdonald ranking second for metres made, despite missing games, and Lafai second for tackle busts with an incredible 122 on just 242 carries.
Their value to how Salford attack cannot be undermined and is perhaps an explanation as to why they managed to score just three tries against Hull FC today, but Salford Red Devils’ fans may have to get used to playing without them as Paul Rowley’s confirmed bad news.
Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester post-match, Rowley said: “Tim has got a hamstring problem and Nene has got a quad problem so it could be several weeks yet.
“We’ve got to learn to cope without them but they’re clearly two very influential people not just good players but two of the best players in the Super League aren’t they?”
The pair are so good that they actually both feature high in the Man of Steel rankings, a competition that’s currently being led by teammate Marc Sneyd, but Macdonald ranks fourth and Lafai is just two points shy of the top ten.
Rowley also noted the pair’s efforts in defence after his side conceded the most tries since their defeat to Wigan Warriors back in May.
He said: “They’re going to be missed and it affects our potency with the ball and defence, they’re a great presence for us and so to get through a win without them is again another tick in the box for us.”
It’s recently been confirmed that one of the club’s incoming centres, Esan Marsters, is set for an extended period on the sidelines as well after suffering an injury for Huddersfield Giants.
