What Tim Lafai was doing before Salford Red Devils move as Paul Rowley praises squad

Once again there is a bit of a fairytale brewing at Salford.

Just like in 2019 when a team who started the season as second favourites for relegation after newly promoted London reached the Grand Final, Salford are again looking to defy the odds and reach another Grand Final.

In fact, having played in the 2020 Challenge Cup semi-final, it would be their third major final in four years with only St Helens playing in more in this time.

It’s again come after many had written them off and is also done with a squad full of fantastic stories.

Even the likes of star players like Brodie Croft – who is a nominee for the Man of Steel – arrived at Salford with something to prove after things didn’t go to plan for him at Melbourne and Brisbane.

Whilst Kallum Watkins’ career was very nearly derailed by the ACL injury he suffered in 2018 as it helped lead to him leaving Leeds despite being the skipper of the club at the time only to have a difficult stint in the NRL before joining his home town club.

It’s these narratives that add to Salford’s amazing story and Paul Rowley was keen to acknowledge this laughing about what Tim Lafai was up to prior to his move to Salford: “Apparently, Tim Lafai laid bricks all wonky and got laid off by his bricklayers and we picked him up.

“It is what it is. They’re good players, we’ve got a good team full of good players. Sometimes written off isn’t right. They could have dipped in form, injuries or it’s a salary cap sport.

“I definitely don’t think we’ve got a squad of misfits, we’re a crazy gang at times but we’ve got some individuals who take their trade very seriously and as a collective we’ve got a very good team.”

Lafai, alongside his Salford teammates, is set to try and pen the next great chapter of Salford’s fairytale but they face the most fierce foe imaginable in the shape of Champions St Helens and will do so without the aforementioned Croft due to a head injury.