Every word Paul Rowley said following Salford Red Devils’ defeat at Wigan Warriors
Salford Red Devils have signed a prop from Wigan on loan.
A heavily weakened Salford side were beaten 54-0 at Wigan Warriors on Sunday afternoon, with the Red Devils’ off-field saga still ongoing and very much affecting what they’re able to produce on the field.
Virtually half of Paul Rowley‘s matchday 17 at The Brick Community Stadium were made up of youngsters, be that homegrown or loanees that have recently arrived from elsewhere.
The other half included senior figures who have been playing through the pain barrier for a number of weeks.
Here’s every word Salford head coach Rowley had to say post-match, with a wide array of topics discussed…
On the day…
There was loads of character.
There are some young lads there who have come in and it was a leveller of not just what they’re used to, but they’re not ready for that. They’re not ready to be in that position.
They were fantastic, but the best bit about it for me is when (as a young player) you get to sit down at the side of an experienced player who’s going to turn your nerves into excitement.
We had plenty of that in our dressing room today that went above and beyond, and showed tremendous character.
I don’t like losing, obviously, and we won’t accept mediocrity. We’ll judge it and judge efforts on their merit, on the standards that we want to uphold and set.
But I can’t have any complaints on effort.
On who played injured…
I would say there were definitely three we wouldn’t have played (on a normal day).
Hilly (Chris Hill) did the first 40 and then he couldn’t get back on.
(Justin) Sangare came on injured, and I think Shoz (Joe Shorrocks) wouldn’t have played either.
But they played, so it’s good. That’s what rugby players do.
On Kallum Watkins and Chris Atkin’s absence amid exit rumours and speculation the pair refused to play…
I’m not sure (what the situation is).
I got asked this outside (by Sky Sports), and my response was that I’d get battered by those questions when I got in here (the press room).
I expect it, but the healthiest way for me is to focus on the players that were playing and that were in that dressing room.
They deserve my full attention, so I’ve given all of my energy to them.
That’s not leading you in any sort of direction, because we’ve got injured players who didn’t play, who couldn’t play.
We’ve got lads who could play that didn’t play because of cap restrictions etc.
There’d be too many different categories to put everybody in. I’ll just concentrate on the lads that did play, and I couldn’t be prouder of them.
On not deserving what’s going on…
We’re just playing rugby, we want to play, it’s a simple game.
The hard bit is that it’s been a little bit like setting off for a sprint without knowing where the finish line is.
It’s getting a little bit like, ‘are we nearly there yet?’
I’m head down and working hard. I was really looking forward to today, and I enjoyed a lot of the day.
I enjoy seeing people make their debut, and I enjoy and get motivated and inspired by efforts from people like Chris Hill and Jack Ormondroyd.
That amazes me, it just makes it a privilege to be here.
I’ll sleep well today, I’m really happy about a lot of things, including the character.
Yeah, we’d like it to be different, but you go on and think it will be different.
I spent a day a couple of days ago at the Mayor’s charity for people who experience homelessness. Listening to their story, it puts it in perspective.
I know we’ve all got our own story and we want things to be easier, but if that’s as bad as life gets, it isn’t that tough.
We got paid 24 hours late, so we’ll be alright, I’m sure.
On how days like this will be reflected on fondly in terms of the players’ efforts…
I’ve done it myself, I’ve done it as a player and I’ve been in their boots, so I can say it because I’ve done it.
You look round and you remember the people that played. It’s a privilege to be in that dressing room.
On communication with the club’s new ownership group…
That’s for Chris (Irwin, CEO). He talks to them regularly, and my emotional reaction to it is that I’ve always been looking towards the middle of April because that’s when the proposed stadium purchase is.
Logically, you might need a few quid to purchase a stadium.
This is purely me, it’s not fact, it’s purely my simple mind trying to put some rationale to everything.
That was to fasten my seatbelt, hold on, take a deep breath and get ready for a couple of bumpy months here coming up.
That’s just my rationale, which I explained to the players the other day.
I don’t know if that gave them comfort, but (they’ve) maybe (been) listening to a lot of noise from a lot of different directions.
If that is right, then I guess the lack of communication throughout outwardly and inwardly has led to people making their own minds up.
I’ve sat, I’ve listened and that’s how I’ve played it in my head. That’s how I keep my head on the planet.
I just feel I’m lucky to be here. It’s a tough ride at the minute, it’s bumpy, but I’m in a 5,000-metre race and I’ve ran 4,900, so I might as well get the last 100 out the way and see what it looks like.
On this needing to be the last month of the saga…
I would say so. I can’t elaborate on that.
On whether certain players are at the end of their tether…
I think they all are.
On numerous youngsters now having to be put on professional contracts after making their second Super League appearance of the season…
(They’ve had to be put on) £18,000 minimum contracts, but they’ve got jobs.
It’s just cost us about £80,000, so work that one out. They had to be under-21 to not count on the cap. To put a player in, they had to be under-21.
But if they had played already, and you can’t put a trialist in who’s not played, you’re forced to add £80,000 to your wage bill effectively.
On how many times his squad changed ahead of the game…
We were really looking forward to the game, we had prepared really hard. Then it just took a turn at the back-end of the week. It was a challenge, but we were never not going to play the game. Simple as that.
We’re vulnerable and busted as a group, because we’re facing extreme challenges. But, resilience and fortitude really test your character.
We’ll come through it, at some point I’m sure, and we’ll be patched up and we’ll go again and start to look at how to make an impact on the competition.
On the upcoming Challenge Cup quarter-final trip to Catalans Dragons…
We’re looking forward to that. Flights are booked, we’ll be there. We’ll have some players coming back from injury who are already in the cap, so we’ll be a little bit easier in those states.
