St Helens v Salford Red Devils verdict as star signing scores four in record-breaking game

Salford Red Devils were hammered 82-0 by St Helens in a game that has arguably put Super League in a bad light with Salford’s squad selection causing plenty of questions.

The Red Devils named just 16 players for the match with their starting XIII having just a handful of players who had previously played in Super League.

Salford head coach Paul Rowley fielded questions from the BBC before the game and argued that injuries picked up in the Challenge Cup last week as well as confusion over how the £1.2 million cap worked, meant that he was forced to play a team of reserves as opposed to a blend of reserves and first-teamers.

Questions of player welfare have rightly been asked but St Helens went about their business as they would with any opponent which led to an incredibly one-sided game that was unfortunately broadcast on free-to-air TV.

Saints’ huge margin of victory broke the Super League record for the widest margin of victory with that previously standing at 80 points, something that had happened on three different occasions.

Here’s our verdict as St Helens hammered Salford Red Devils.

St Helens hammer young Salford Red Devils side

It took just six minutes for St Helens to take the lead and Morgan Knowles’ opener saw the floodgates smashed open with Lewis Murphy, Tristan Sailor, Curtis Sironen and Harry Robertson all scoring in the first 20 minutes as St Helens went 28-0 up with ease.

Salford started to show some resistance but their attack had no cutting edge and was littered with errors, as would be expected for such a youthful team, and Saints capitalised as Morgan Knowles scored his second just after the 30-minute mark. Harry Robertson was the next to double up as he scored smartly in the corner to make it 38-0 at the end of the first half.

Saints right edge continued to impress after the break with Kyle Feldt scoring on debut before Harry Robertson set up Jonny Lomax to make it 48-0 after just 47 minutes. Tristan Sailor then added his second and third as the rout continued. One concern was that Lewis Murphy left the field just before the hour mark though it was unclear if that was an injury or simply a case of protecting the winger.

The final 20 minutes saw Tristan Sailor add his fourth before Mark Percival, Joe Batchelor and George Delaney also got their names on the scoresheet to make it 82-0 with Saints running in 15 tries.

Good day for

Tristan Sailor managed to score a hat trick on his Super League debut. A pinch of salt needs to be given on account of the opposition but the Australian’s pace and skills were there for all to see. He’s a completely different type of player to what the club have had in recent years and he could help transform their attack.

Bad day for

Rugby League – the sport needs to capitalise on the handful of chances it gets to showcase itself on free-to-air TV and this certainly was not that. The Salford players did themselves proud but you have to feel for them.

Bigger picture

The Salford takeover needs to be processed as quickly as possible because another week of the reserves being battered is not a good look. It’s also at risk of leaving the Red Devils in a massively negative points difference that could be the difference come the end of the year between Salford making the six and not.

Teams

St Helens XIII: Jack Welsby; Kyle Feldt, Harry Robertson, Mark Percival, Lewis Murphy; Tristan Sailor, Jonny Lomax; Alex Walmsley, Daryl Clark, Matty Lees; Curtis Sironen, Joe Batchelor, Morgan Knowles

Interchanges: James Bell, Matt Whitley, George Delaney, Jake Wingfield

Salford Red Devils XIII: Nathan Connell; Ethan Fitzgerald, Josh Wagstaffe, Lucas Coan, Sean Murray; Kai Morgan, Jack Gatcliffe; Bardyel Wells, Finley Yates, Harrison Hope; James Shields, John Hutchings, Logan Lagar

Interchanges: Joe Bullock, Ben Hellwell, Tiaki Chan

.@Saints1890 and @SalfordDevils get their 2025 @Betfred #SuperLeague campaigns underway this evening 🤝

Live on @BBCSport, @SkySports+ and #SuperLeague+ 📺 pic.twitter.com/o9PEAh1Uoq

— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) February 15, 2025