Star man doing it tough as Salford boss explains rare interchange

Brodie Croft earned a rare, and very brief, stint on the interchange bench in the latter stages of his sides 14-6 win over Castleford at the AJ Bell Stadium.

Croft, 25, scored his side’s first points during the Super League Round Nine clash, his second try of the season.

The half-back has appeared in every fixture so far for the Red Devils in 2023, but head coach Paul Rowley admits his Australian marquee man has been doing it tough.

Croft has produced six try assists so far this season with 18 tackle busts, accumulating a total of 800 metres ran.

Brodie Croft doing it tough

“He’s been ill all week,” Rowley revealed in his post-mach press conference.

“He’s actually only played two games this year where he’s not been poorly.

“He’s had one thing into another. He’s in one of those periods where you seem to catch everything.

“He’s got a new child and his other child is a little bit older and has just gotten into nursery, so he’s catching everything unfortunately for him.

“We haven’t seen Brodie all week. This is the first he’s stepped up this week. He’s pumped full of antibiotics. I thought I’d treat him well and give him a three minute rest!

“It’s a mixture of everything, the kids, the weather. We’ve got a weekend off now, so we’ll do a review Friday and start our training next week on Tuesday.

“I’m hoping he can get some good rest and we can see the best version of Brodie.

“It’s so frustrating for any player that doesn’t approach a game quite feeling your best. You always want to be feeling your best and can give your best account of yourself.

“There’s more to come from Brodie and there’s more to come from the team.

“We’ll continue to work really hard and we have those high aspirations of ourselves.”

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