Ian Watson: Salford’s defence simply not good enough

Drew Darbyshire

Salford coach Ian Watson insists his side’s defence needs to improve following their 30-22 defeat to Wigan.

The Red Devils lost 30-22 to the Warriors at the AJ Bell Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Salford have conceded 54 points in their last two games against Castleford and Wigan, and Watson insists their defence needs to be better.

Speaking after the game, Watson said: “Our defence on our right edge let us down.

“We got ran around too many times on our right edge, especially coming out of yardage when we had put ourselves back in a position to win the game.

“It was disappointing in the first half when we conceded back-to-back tries so we’ve got to learn how to turn the tide, but we were completing at around 40% in the first half which wasn’t good enough and our execution was poor on the back of that. Defensively, we let Wigan march us.

“We were better in the Castleford game than we were today. We let ourselves down defensively and that’s the disappointing aspect.”

Adam Walker made his home debut for the Red Devils after playing his first game for the club last week in their defeat at Castleford.

And Watson was impressed with the Scotland international, who has recently returned from a drugs ban.

On Walker, Watson added: “He was trying to lead the boys and had a massive influence on the game when he came on as well.

“He played with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. He led the way for us in the middle. The majority of our middles were really good, but we were just poor defensively.

“We wanted to up our intensity once we went into the lead again but [Dom] Manfredi got them on the front foot and [Joe] Burgess was skipping around us, so they gave them a big lift. It was up to us to control them, but we didn’t do that at all.”

Watson also confirmed winger Ken Sio is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines after popping his groin. Sio will be assessed by Salford’s medical staff in the coming days to reveal the extent of the injury.