Features

The five best Salford Red Devils players of the Super League era

by
Callum Walker
January 13, 2021

Formerly the Salford City Reds, the now Red Devils were not even a part of the inaugural Super League in 1996.

After promotion, relegation and promotion again in 2003, Salford finally achieved some sort of stability, before narrowly missing out on relegation once more in 2016. Plenty of high-profile stars have donned the Salford shirt in that time, including five on this list.

Malcolm Alker

A one-club man, Malcolm Alker spent his whole career at Salford after progressing through the ranks as teenager. He went on to make almost 300 appearances following his debut in 1997. In 2000, Alker was named captain, earning a testimonial in 2006 before being forced to retire in 2010 due to injury.

Michael Dobson

Part of Marwan Koukash’s rebrand of the Red Devils, Michael Dobson arrived at Salford in 2014. Though injury blighted him in 2015, Dobson helped the club stave off relegation in 2016 before helping to guide the Red Devils inside the top eight a year later. Scoring 301 points over a period of three seasons, Dobson returned to Australia after 2017.

Neil Baynes

Signing from Wigan ahead of the 1999 season, Neil Baynes was an ever-present for Salford over the course of five seasons. The rampaging prop forward accrued more than 100 appearances and helped the club earn promotion back to Super League in 2003. Baynes left to join Whitehaven at the end of 2005.

Andy Coley

Having joined from rivals Swinton Lions ahead of the 2001 season, Andy Coley became one of Salford’s most impressive forwards in the noughties, registering nearly 200 appearances. During his six-year stay with Salford, Coley earned an England call-up, starting every Super League game in 2007 before leaving for Wigan at the end of that year.

Stuart Littler

Mr. Salford himself, Stuart Littler came through the academy to make his debut in 1998, making over 300 appearances for the club until he departed for Leigh at the end of 2011. A no-nonsense centre that had the eye for a try, Littler crossed the whitewash 112 times for the then-named City Reds.