Salford 44-10 Toulouse: Red Devils retain place in Betfred Super League
Last Updated: 28/09/18 6:21am
Salford Red Devils secured their Betfred Super League status in emphatic style with a 44-10 win over gallant French side Toulouse.
Toulouse claimed the scalps of Widnes and Hull KR to take their battle for promotion to the final round of the Qualifiers, but they found the Red Devils too hot to handle and they now need Halifax to win big at London on Saturday to keep their hopes alive of appearing in the Million Pound Game.
Salford, who had put themselves in jeopardy with back-to-back defeats, led only 14-10 early in the second half but cut loose against a tiring Olympique defence to run in five tries in the last 22 minutes.
Their hero was Australian half-back Jackson Hastings, who returned in style from a two-match ban to maintain his own unbeaten record in a Red Devils shirt with a sixth win from as many matches.
Hastings made his mark with the game's first try, jinking his way through the visitors' defence in the 13th minute, moments after preventing a goal-line drop-out at the other end.
Hastings, taking on the kicking duties in the absence of the injured Ed Chamberlain, landed the conversion and added a penalty awarded for a foul by full-back Mark Kheirallah in the act of scoring, a rare eight-point try.
Toulouse, always dangerous through the prompting of 6'4'' stand-off Johnathon Ford, might have scored midway through the first half but centre Bastien Ader could not take the final pass from the playmaker.
The Red Devils extended their lead after 25 minutes when hooker Joey Lussick forced his way over from dummy half for their second try and, although Hastings hit an upright with the conversion, he made amends shortly afterwards with a 30-metre penalty.
The French side were in danger of losing touch but they gave themselves renewed hope five minutes before the break when Ford's long pass found Ader in space and he got winger Chris Centrone over at the corner to make it 14-4.
The gap was down to just four early in the second half after scrum-half Stan Robin won the race to Ford's kick to the line and Kheirallah added the conversion.
Salford needed a third penalty from the boot of Hastings, after the impressive Lussick had been denied a second try by a ball steal, to keep their noses in front and they made sure with three tries in an eight-minute spell midway through the second half.
Winger Greg Johnson finished off a flowing move out wide, full-back Niall Evalds cut a swathe through the middle of the tiring Toulouse defence and Hastings worked Derrell Olpherts for another after Josh Jones had regathered the ball from Rob Lui's high kick.
Hastings maintained his accuracy with the boot to extend his side's lead to 34-10 before handing over the goal-kicking duties to prop Luke Burgess as Salford added further tries through centre Kris Welham and loose forward Tyrone McCarthy in the last five minutes.
Match reaction
Salford Red Devils head coach Ian Watson reflects on his side's performance, securing their Super League status, Luke Burgess' retirement and the futures of Hastings and Lussick.
Sylvain Houles did not feel his team played 'their way' at the AJ Bell Stadium and also reflected on their season as a whole.
