Paul Rowley passionately defends St Helens squad selection as dire situation laid bare

Salford Red Devils head coach Paul Rowley has passionately defended his squad selection for Saturday evening’s game at St Helens, doing so live on the BBC.

Due to their takeover still awaiting ratification, the Red Devils’ squad for their Super League opener is essentially a reserves one..

Rowley has only named 16 players in his matchday squad, with seven senior debuts handed out and just three senior men chosen – with all three beginning on the bench.

Many have questioned why Salford weren’t able to name the same squad as last weekend when they beat League 1 outfit Midlands Hurricanes away from home in the Challenge Cup Third Round.

That squad contained a much more balanced blend of youth and experience, and at the time of writing, the Greater Manchester outfit already trail 16-0 at Saints with a little over ten minutes played.

Paul Rowley passionately defends St Helens squad selection as dire situation laid bare

With the game live on BBC Two, Rowley spoke to presenter Tanya Arnold pre-match, and addressed the questions over his squad selection.

He detailed: “I found out about an hour before we had to put the squad in. I’d just come out of an MRI scan on my shoulder to be honest, it was a very difficult moment.

“We’d read the narrative, and there has bee miscommunication on many fronts. Our club was given the impression that we had a handful of our team to select from, and we trained as such.

“We’d done our main session and the squad declaration was on a day off, so it suddenly became a very difficult process.

“I couldn’t play with the Midlands Hurricanes squad (from last week) because we got a few injuries. There were 17 players in that squad with a £1.2 million salary cap in place.

“We then weren’t under the impression that the squad had to remain the same (with the same 17). We presented two squads to the RFL this week, the first with 15 players which was a strong one with players like Kallum Watkins in it.

“And then we were informed that the governance on it was rigid, so those players like Kallum couldn’t play because they weren’t registered last week.

“It’s difficult then if you get injuries. It made it physically impossible to turn out a decent squad.

“I believed the 15-man squad I presented to the RFL would be able to come here (to Saints) and win, and that got discussed. We got informed yesterday that the squad wouldn’t be accepted.

“Nobody wants to put our great game on this stage live on the BBC and us not to have our strongest team. We were under the impression and hoping that we’d be able to play our strongest players.”

‘This is the first time I’ve seen our boys absolutely rattled. They’re devastated this week’

It’s not yet known whether the Red Devils’ takeover will be ratified by the time their next outing comes – welcoming Leeds Rhinos to the Salford Community Stadium on February 22.

Rowley continued: “I can’t say I’m comfortable fielding these questions (about squad selection). I’ll cop everything for these players, but I wish we’d got so much attention over the last three-and-a-half months of turbulence and uncertainty.

“They’ve been absolutely fantastic and at the eleventh hour, we thought we’d got past finish line. Wages have been paid, the lads have been paid in full.

“We’ve bought the Ferrari, the fuel’s in, it, it’s in the garage and no one will let us drive it. Is it a punishment or a safety measure put in place for club? Ultimately, it’s players and staff that suffer.

“We should all accept some accountability, I will and if I was to do everything again, time would have been better.

“Half-an-hour before (squad) declaration, to try and ask for time to have at least one face-to-face meeting to find resolutions together, we just want to showcase our great game on the BBC.

“This is the first time I’ve seen our boys absolutely rattled. They’re devastated this week.

“My job is to protect my players and I can’t speak highly enough of them.”