Salford ran in eight tries against the league leaders as St Helens struggled at the AJ Bell Stadium; Alex Walmsley ran in a consolation try for Saints but it was too late for them to mount a fightback
Sunday 31 July 2022 22:57, UK
Salford Red Devils upset reigning Betfred Super League champions St Helens with an emphatic 44-12 win at the AJ Bell Stadium.
Joe Burgess and Kallum Watkins scored two tries and Sitaleki Akauola, Dan Sarginson, Brodie Croft and Greg Burke weighed in with one each, while Marc Sneyd kicked four goals as Salford moved up to sixth.
All Saints could muster in reply were converted tries by Jack Welsby and Alex Walmsley. Despite the defeat, Kristian Woolf's men remain four points clear at the top of the table.
The win was all the more impressive, given Salford have been badly hit by injuries this season and could only name an 18-man squad on Friday. However, they welcomed back Sarginson for the first time since he suffered a shoulder injury in March.
Morgan Knowles was back in the Saints line-up after suspension, although Dan Norman missed out through injury and Sione Mata'utia continues to serve a ban. James Roby switched from hooker to half-back, partnering Jonny Lomax, which meant a rare start for Joey Lussick against his former club.
Salford came into the game looking for a third successive victory for the first time this season after beating Toulouse Olympique and Catalans Dragons in recent weeks. They could not have dreamed of a better start, scoring three times in the first quarter.
Prop Akauola scored to the left of the uprights after taking a pass in the tackle from Alex Gerrard in the 12th minute and Sneyd added the conversion.
Salford scored their second try just a few minutes later as Brodie Croft's pass to the left edge found Tim Lafai, who in turn sent his winger Burgess flying in at the corner. Sneyd was unable to add the extras.
The onslaught from the home side was relentless as Saints struggled to even get out of their own half. Salford got their third try when Lafai and Burgess linked superbly to send Sarginson over and Sneyd's conversion made it 16-0.
With 14 minutes of the half remaining, Salford scored again and once again it was Croft doing the spadework with a huge looping pass to the right edge to find Ken Sio, who in turn fed Watkins for a superb try.
Moments before half-time, Burgess scored his second try, breaking clear just inside the Salford half after taking a pass from Chris Atkin and he finished with style, cutting infield to make the conversion easier for Sneyd who duly obliged.
Sneyd had the chance to add another couple of points on the stroke of half-time but his long-range penalty attempt fell short.
Salford showed they were in no mood to simply defend their lead after the restart as they made an enterprising start, eager to keep the ball alive at every opportunity.
A bullet pass from Andy Ackers at dummy half found Greg Burke hitting the ball at speed, scoring with his first touch of the ball and Sneyd added the conversion to make it 32-0.
Saints finally scored their first try of the game in the 62nd minute when Welsby broke clear from 30 metres out, with Lussick adding the conversion.
That proved to be a minor speed bump for rampant Salford as they replied with two tries in six minutes. The ball was brilliantly kept alive, switching from one side of the pitch to the other and Watkins was on hand to score a try which Sneyd converted.
They followed that with arguably the try of the game as Lafai made a powerful break through the heart of the Saints defence and he unselfishly passed to Croft who scored under the posts, with Sneyd converting.
Salford were reduced to 12 men after Elijah Taylor was sent to the sin-bin four minutes from the end and Saints were quick to capitalise on the extra man for a consolation try through Walmsley, with Jon Bennison adding the conversion.
Salford head coach Paul Rowley: "I couldn't be prouder. It's an amazing effort. Without sounding casual about it, we have been building towards that. From day one the lads have worked really hard. Things like that are not a fluke, it's a result of hard work.
"The character of the group has never been questioned. We had 18 players and the 18th man had a jab to warm up.
"We knew the areas we wanted to go and this group know how to adapt. We are quite difficult to stop when we get on a roll and we scored some fantastic tries.
"We have so much respect for St Helens and our staff and players hold them in high regard. They are the benchmark."
St Helens head coach Kristian Woolf: "Salford deserve credit, they played very well, but we are extremely
disappointed.
"We pride ourselves on high standards and for whatever reason, we have not reached those today.
"We pride ourselves on defence but we were well below our usual standards. We are going to have to have a good look at that and try and work out how we can turn around.
"That result needs to give us a kick up the backside and we need to have a really honest look at ourselves. We have been off for two weeks and I'm not sure why we have been."
Both Salford and St Helens are next in action on Sunday August 7, St Helens welcoming Castleford Tigers at 1pm as they look to bounce back. The Red Devils will travel to Headingley to face Leeds Rhinos, kicking off at 3pm.
