Super League: Marc Sneyd stars as Salford Red Devils rout Castleford Tigers 50-10 to seal play-off spot
Salford's Marc Sneyd scored two tries as the visitors secured a play-off place with a resounding win at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle; Ken Sio, Jack Ormondroyd, Shane Wright, Deon Cross, Brodie Croft and Kallum Watkins also crossed for Paul Rowley's side
Last Updated: 29/08/22 7:57pm
Marc Sneyd led the way against former club Castleford Tigers as Salford Red Devils triumphed 50-10 to seal a Betfred Super League play-off place.
The Red Devils made a flying start to the contest as quickfire tries from half-back Sneyd - who also kicked nine goals - Ken Sio and Jack Ormondroyd helped them into a 20-point lead with just 13 minutes on the clock.
Jake Mamo and Derrell Olpherts responded for Cas to cut the deficit to 10 points at half-time, but tries after the break from Shane Wright, Deon Cross, Brodie Croft, Kallum Watkins and Sneyd's second put the game well beyond the home side's reach.
- Rugby league news and gossip blog
- Super League fixtures | Standings | Rugby League live on Sky Sports
The result means Salford are now assured of a top-six finish by virtue of having a vastly superior points difference to their vanquished opponents, while Castleford must beat Leeds Rhinos in a winner-takes-all clash on Saturday, September 3 to make the play-offs.
Story of the game
The visitors were the quickest off the mark in this crunch match for a play-off spot and, after Castleford were caught offside, Sneyd got the breakthrough early on from a penalty after he opted for two to make it 2-0 after six minutes.
The first try of the game soon followed after Croft broke forward, he put through Sneyd, who touched down for the first try of the encounter and he converted to make it 8-0.
The visitors capitalised on a lazy home start and raced into a 14-point lead after just 10 minutes when Watkins broke forward in similar fashion to the first try and put it on a plate for Sio, who made no mistake in crossing before Sneyd kept his 100 per cent conversion rate.
Castleford Tigers 10-50 Salford Red Devils score summary
Castleford Tigers: Tries – Jake Mamo, Derrell Olpherts; Goal – Danny Richardson.
Salford Red Devils: Tries – Marc Sneyd (2), Ken Sio, Jack Ormondroyd, Shane Wright, Deon Cross, Brodie Croft, Kallum Watkins; Goals – Marc Sneyd (9).
The home side grew even more frustrated and were simply not up to the fight in the early minutes of the contest and Salford galloped into a 20-0 lead after Ormondroyd threw a dummy to fool the Tigers' defence before crossing underneath the sticks with just 15 minutes on the clock.
Mamo breathed new life into the game when he danced past and unlocked the Salford defence to give the hosts a route back into the game and Danny Richardson's conversion reduced the gap to 14 points.
It seemed the Tigers had finally woken up, and chopped the deficit in half when Greg Eden drifted a delicious pass out to Derrell Olpherts who scored after a video referee review.
In similar fashion to the first period, Salford kicked the half off with two points to make it 22-10 after Castleford were penalised.
The Red Devils caught the Tigers napping at the start of the half once again and scored the first try of the period when Watkins poked a gap through the Castleford defence before he picked out Wright who crossed over to help make it 28-10.
The visitors hammered home their superiority in the second half and scored twice in quick succession thanks to tries from Cross and Croft, which was subsequently greeted with the home fans heading for the exits at 40-10.
A convincing victory was rubber-stamped when Watkins and Sneyd added a seventh and eighth try respectively as it finished 50-10.
What they said
Castleford Tigers head coach Lee Radford
"The gulf in quality between the two sides was evident early on, and we looked busted and broke...and they were eager, fresh and ready to go.
"We're broken and busted, and we'll patch up again and go again one more time."
Salford Red Devils head coach Paul Rowley
"If we could have had a crystal ball [at the start of the season], play-offs would have been a success, but it doesn't feel like the journey is ending.
"We're not happy with that [just being in the play-offs] and we'll do what we've always done. We'll look to next week, no further, but we've got a bit of energy about us and we're not ready to finish."
What's next?
Salford conclude their season at home to Warrington Wolves on Saturday, September 3, while Castleford travel to another team chasing the play-offs in Leeds on the same day in a match which is live on Sky Sports (both 3pm).
