Thought Gaskell showed up well again today - scored a try off a Bradford mistake which actually took some scoring!

Also thought Adam Walne played well and made good yards - he could be a real diamond in the rough and should confine the likes of Boyle and James to the sidelines if he continues to play with that determination. Hunte and Long need to be applauded for dropping these youngsters in and giving them their chance - I very much doubt Veivers would have done the same.

Foran is definatley getting better with every game....I do think that if we can get a few of the key injuries back we will kick on.

Hunte has done a good job and his stock has risen but let's not get carried away. We need a new Head Coach to help continue our move forward to where we want to be. There have been countless examples in football and rugby league where an interim/caretaker appointment has been made permanent and things have quickly slipped off a cliff.

There is alot of talent in this side as you say, Theo and Sneyd in particular were excellent again today.

For me its all about entertaining RL. Noble is the man for 5 drives and an up and under to win 10-8. If that is what you want then so be it. I want to see the continuation of some superb rugby we have seen with Hunte & Long and if the Noble: Long situation is not to occur then I would much rather have Long involved than Noble. The players are definitely performing for these two so `If it ain't broke, don't fix it`

Sneyd was again very consistant in everything he did at full-back and did little wrong.
Fages went pretty well on attack but his defence on the right flank with Murphy was weak and he seemed exposed on a number of occasions when Gaskell moved inside him to defend.
The Murphy-Fages defence on the right needs attending to, Bradford ripped us apart down that wing and scored a couple of tries as well as making numerous breaks, as did Huddersfield on Friday!
We look lightweight in the back-row, Dixon-Ashurst are too alike I feel we need more size there although both defend well. Godwin-Owen interchange is going well with the latter showing some great skill with good flat passes to get J James and C Nero over for scores near the line, Neal went well at Bradford as did Jewitt and Griffin.
Good performances overall against both Huddersfield and Bradford, and we probably deserved more from the Bulls game.



Is Bradford the St Helens of Yorkshire? Got really tired of the constant mithering of the ref for forward passes and off-side yesterday by the home fans.



Well done to Salford fans who completely out-sang Bradford yesterday ''we are only a few but we out-sang you'' was a classic! Added much needed atmosphere to the tired looking and life-less Grattan Stadium.

They're terrible but they're great. I do sometimes have my concerns that they're going to run on to the pitch with their microphones and record themselves having a fight with the referee. It's exactly what a local volunteer-run radio station should be.

Great performance from you guys in the second half btw. Very impressed with your spirit, as I am with ours. Amazing what a bit of adversity does for a team. Great to see things looking up for you.

Thought it was me.
Trouble was the pressure they're putting on the ref.
When they were shouting for offside,we weren't.
It was constant,like going back 40 years.
One guy did shout 'feeding' but I assume that was West Yorkshire version of irony

I think the conditioning of the side deserves credit.
Playing on wet snow at St Helens they came back very well late on in the game.
With a day less rest than Bradford,they came back very strongly on the sand and mud yesterday,in the second half.
This was after a lot of defending in both games.

I think we can take a lot from yesterday's game. Alan Hunte's youngsters did us proud. The second half comeback was encouraging. The team spirit was clear to see. We have more options and the structures are there for all to see.

We have got to concentrate just before half time though. Too often we ship points in the last ten minutes of the first half. Yesterday we conceded twelve points which ultimately cost us the game. We still give away too many penalties, even though some of them mystify me. We must sort out our right side defence.

Off the field, whoever came up with the "I'd rather have a Koukash than a Khan" song deserves congratulations. It still makes me smile now.

Two issues cost us .
The 2 tries in 5 minutes just before half time. It's familiar.
In the second half,we were within one score when Theo,who had a very good game on attack,made a great break but then kicked ahead,dead,when he had support on both sides.
Shame.

This conceding tries before and after half time is nothing new id love to find out the percentage of tries we conceed 5 minutes ether side of the break. Really think its a psychological issue engraved in the club we need a mind coach in to see if he can break the habits because you cant conceed 12 points every week in that period and expect to win.

Or we could just learn to defend and concentrate?

Im not sure what the answer is GT 1st thing that goes when your tired is your technique but we seem to conceed these tries weather we are on top in a game or not teams know that if you up their game 10 mins eather side of half time salford will fold and and its very difficult to come back from -12 down or a 12 point swing for any team.

Its a mental thing imo needs addressing by an expert imo

Sneyd made a similar decision on Friday , a kick to the corner when we had option to keep the ball in hand.

It's great we have such talent being given the chance with the ability & growing confidence to make these plays . The experience to make the most of them will come I'm sure

I want to see the continuation of exciting football and I'm not mad about Noble but for the position we are in he's a better long term prospect than Hunte & Long. We've played well in four of the five games Hunte has been in charge but it's a huge leap to say that would transmit in to long term success. Noble has been there, done it and got the credentials.

Well we will have to agree to differ Walshy. I have no objection to him being involved as an `overseer` of some kind - maybe wearing Graham Lowe`s shoes in the UK type of approach - but he & Millward will be the oldest coaches in Super League if taken on as Head Coach. Hunte is 10 years younger & Long 15 years younger.

I really cant see why an Interim appointment until the end of this season would not be the right thing for the club for the three of them though its mooted that Noble would bring in Sharpe & Henry Paul immediately.

Sorry but not for me. Its the Doctors cash anyway so our input is irrelevant.

I can't see what age has got to do with it. On that argument Brian Smith and Tim Sheens should have been pensioned off long ago. I guess it all depends on your outlook, innovation does not stop as you get older, but experience certainly increases as you get older. The old adage of "if you are good enough, you are old enough" works both ways .... Young or old. I am not putting up an argument for any particular coach, just saying take a balanced view based on achievements and ambitions, not how old someone is. Success is generally recognised as 90per cent perspiration and 10 per cent inspiration. Lets get the effort and attitude sorted first, and add the genius later. Strong foundations are needed at the club.

The longer this goes on the more I think that both the Brian's will be coming in. Noble has had no commitments that wouldn't let him take the job weeks ago, yet nothing has happened, but is clearly going to be part of the set-up looking at all the courting the Dr's been doing. Smith has had a short-term commitment as defensive coach to a RU side plus would need to wait for visas. This would indicate to me that the delay is due to waiting for Smith to get over before announcing.

Of course, this is all my own deduction, but the Dr is clearly waiting for a reason, as we all know he is quite capable of making decisions quickly when required.

Which might explain Sean Long's cryptic "2 + 2" tweet. Or might not.

Longy only made the "Time for a change" quote on Twitter. A poster on this forum posted the "2+2=" quote.

I don't think it's Brian Smith .
I think it's just timing , the Dr isn't shy when it comes to media attention & he wants to to make the most of the opportunity to create a Buzz.
He is away on business , and Chalmers & Lowe are supposed to be back over mid April. in time for the Hull game
He wants to be ringmaster so it will all happen when he's back & ready .
Also he's not had to rush to a decision simply because Hunte Long & Highton are doing a sterling job getting comitted performances out of our patched up side.
Hopefully they will continue to be a an integral part of the new coaching arrangements
we've also got this ' Young Kiwi Technical coach ' supposedly coming over.

It's obvious the club are waiting for other(s) before the big announcement. It's either Smith waiting for a visa (Like the Butcher says) or it's other key backroom staff they are waiting on.

There's definitely more than just the Coach announcement. It may just be a timing thing, but it just feels like something or someone else is holding it back. If it was just Noble they were waiting on the Dr would have done it much sooner than now.

Money spent getting an "expert" to train people to be able to concentrate for 80 minutes would be money wasted. Concentration from kick off to final hooter should be drilled in by existing coaching staff and, let's be fair, a standard expectation of any professional rugby league player.

Tell you what, I'll do it for free...

Agreed. If it is Noble the delay will probably help, allowing him to have a good look at the players/ team and have plenty time to formulate his ideas and work on his 'Salford Revolution Masterplan'.

Quote ="TheButcher"There's definitely more than just the Coach announcement. It may just be a timing thing, but it just feels like something or someone else is holding it back. If it was just Noble they were waiting on the Dr would have done it much sooner than now.'" www.sportal.com.au/league-news-d ... day-227096 Quote Smith to earn big bucks in England Veteran Brian Smith is poised to become one of the richest coaches in rugby league when he links up with the Salford club in England. Smith will be right alongside the likes of Craig Bellamy and Wayne Bennett if he accepts the job in coming days. Salford's owner is a multi-millionaire racehorse owner, Dr Marwan Koukash, and he has earmarked Smith as the man to take over from the sacked Phil Veivers.'"

Quote ="TheButcher"There's definitely more than just the Coach announcement. It may just be a timing thing, but it just feels like something or someone else is holding it back. If it was just Noble they were waiting on the Dr would have done it much sooner than now.'" www.sportal.com.au/league-news-d ... day-227096 Quote Smith to earn big bucks in England Veteran Brian Smith is poised to become one of the richest coaches in rugby league when he links up with the Salford club in England. Smith will be right alongside the likes of Craig Bellamy and Wayne Bennett if he accepts the job in coming days. Salford's owner is a multi-millionaire racehorse owner, Dr Marwan Koukash, and he has earmarked Smith as the man to take over from the sacked Phil Veivers.'"