Steve Simms spoke of his delight at the way his players executed their pre-match plans to keep Willie Mason quiet at the Willows.
Salford boss delighted with Rovers rout
Acting Salford boss Steve Simms spoke of his delight at the way his players executed their pre-match plans to keep Hull KR star Willie Mason quiet at the Willows.
The Aussie ace failed to make any impact on the match as the City Reds powered to a 34-18 victory on Friday night.
The home side, who were trailing 18-10 just after half time, battled back brilliantly with a four-try blitz which paved the way for only their second win of the season.
Simms, the Reds director of rugby, who is standing in for Shaun McRae who is on sick leave, said: "We did a lot of practice in the week on Willie Mason and handled him superbly.
Sensational
"Our main objective was to get him on the deck and stop his offloads and we did just that."
Simms also paid tribute to props Ryan Boyle and Adam Sidlow, as well as Daniel Holdsworth, who converted four of the six Salford tries.
"Daniel Holdsworth won the man of the match award and Luke Patten was sensational but Boyle and Sidlow led the way," he said.
"That's where games are won.
"All the players were fantastic and we had to draft in youngsters Alex Davidson and Callum Marriott at a late stage when Ashley Gibson and Rob Parker pulled out.
"We scored some great tries and our defence was superb. We had conceded an average 36 points a game this season but have worked hard in training on defence and it paid dividends."
Rovers boss Justin Morgan admitted :"I am extremely upset but it is not time yet to hit any panic buttons.
"We are miles away from where we want to be but will just to have to keep our heads down and work hard.
Effort
"We did well to get back and lead 18-10 but then lost direction.
"They scored some decent tries but we had every right to win it when we went in front. We are not playing well and don't have the composure that's needed."
Morgan left Mason on the pitch for the full game after his 54-minute debut against Crusaders the previous week.
"He was excellent last week and did some decent things tonight," said Morgan.
"But it's going to take him time to find his feet.
"He certainly put in the effort but ask me about him in a month when I will have a better assessment."
