Ryan Brierley lifts lid on mental anguish of Salford Red Devils exit as plea to owners and RFL made
An emotional Ryan Brierley applauds the Salford Red Devils supporters following a game in 2025
Ryan Brierley never thought it would come to this.
When he signed for Salford ahead of the 2022 campaign, he penned more just a contract.
It was a commitment to a club he’d supported growing up, a club he believed in, a community he connected with, and the chance to fulfil a boyhood dream he hoped would end with a future beyond the field.
But as the Red Devils’ off-field chaos has unfolded over the last ten months or so, Brierley found himself caught between a rock and a hard place with loyalty and a bleak reality simultaneously going hand-in-hand.
‘It was my thorough intention to fulfil my contract at Salford and then stay there in a working capacity’
Thursday evening saw Brierley’s departure from the Salford Community Stadium confirmed, linking up with ambitious Championship outfit Oldham on a two-and-a-half-year deal.
Speaking just a few hours after the announcement, he told LoveRugbyLeague: “It was my thorough intention to fulfil my contract at Salford and then stay there in a working capacity as well, that’s what I’d agreed.
“I’d have loved nothing more, that would have been the dream way to end. But that obviously wasn’t possible.
“I rejected a few things earlier in the year in the hope that this thing would come good, and a lot of us did.
“A lot of the players who you’re seeing playing in Super League now (for other clubs) turned down opportunities of a move because we wanted it to work, we wanted things to happen.
“We believed they would happen and we wanted to stay for (head coach) Paul Rowley; that’s the one man we did want to stay for.”
“It was a soul-driven club built on friendship and love. Once that had gone, it wasn’t the same Salford anymore”
Brierley saw plenty of close friends depart before him this year, with the number of exits from the Salford Community Stadium during the season now in double figures.
Players like Marc Sneyd, Kallum Watkins, Deon Cross and Sam Stone have been shipped out, with the money from their departures used to keep the club alive, without any exaggeration.
Brierley added: “Ultimately, from what I believed Salford was and what I experienced, it was a soul-driven club built on friendship and love.
“Once that had gone, it wasn’t the same Salford anymore. That’s something I’ve really struggled with, mentally, more than anything.”
‘I felt helpless in the end’
After the departures of fellow key figures earlier in the year, Brierley – who had been vice-captain – was handed the captaincy of his boyhood club by boss Rowley, a man who has coached him at both Leigh and Toronto Wolfpack previously.
Despite receiving that honour in tragic circumstances, the Scotland international battled on for weeks with the ever-dwindling few familiar faces that remained.
But after months of uncertainty, it was Salford’s 74-12 defeat to Hull KR last Thursday night that finally tipped things over the edge for him.
He explained: “I felt enough was enough after the game against Hull KR last week, that was probably the case.
“At the end of the game, there was only me as a senior player left on the field, and it hurt. I feel a duty of care to protect the young players, and there are a lot of young players there who are not ready. They’re not ready for Super League action.
“I didn’t want them to go through that, so I felt I had to make a stand in that it’s not fair letting them go through it. I hope the powers that be or people with influence help those young boys out, because I felt helpless in the end.”
“I felt enough was enough after the game against Hull KR last week… I hope the powers that be or people with influence help those young boys out”
Salford had finished in the play-offs in two of the three seasons which preceded the current one, in which they sit rock bottom of the ladder in Super League having won just two of their 20 games.
Brierley continued: “Rowls (Paul Rowley) has mentioned the word ‘threshold’ a lot, and people have different thresholds. Marc Sneyd’s was five months ago, mine was five days ago.
“It’s difficult because everyone’s in different situations and everyone is individual as to how they do things.
“I just felt like I wanted to last it out until the last day I could, but then I got presented with an opportunity that could secure my future and also help Salford in the short term.
“Given the professionalism with which Oldham did things, I felt like joining them was the right thing to do.”
‘I said to Oldham it would only happen if they did things the right way, and I’ve managed to help Salford in the short term, which meant a lot’
Prestonian Brierley’s career has seen him make over 300 senior appearances, representing Leigh, Huddersfield Giants, Toronto and Hull KR before Salford.
He now returns to the Championship with Oldham after months of waiting for answers from the powers that be at Salford that simply never arrived.
The 33-year-old detailed: “I don’t know the ins and outs of when Oldham actually contacted Salford, but as you can imagine, it’s been a tough time at Salford.
“I was fairly committed to sticking it out as I felt I showed, but I think it had probably run its course and it was a case of how long you can wait for something to happen that’s probably got a low chance of happening.
“In an ideal scenario and in an ideal world, the club would have been sorted a long time ago and we could just have concentrated on playing rugby, which is all I ever wanted to do.
“It’s probably the toughest decision I’ve had to make in my career. It’s one I didn’t want to make, but I’m really thankful for Oldham doing things the right way”
“But I got presented with an opportunity.
“That opportunity involved looking after Salford as well, and I just felt that if I could help Salford in the short term while securing my own future, everyone could kind of win.
“I said to Oldham it would only happen if they did things the right way, and I’ve managed to help Salford in the short term, which meant a lot.
“It’s probably the toughest decision I’ve had to make in my career. It’s one I didn’t want to make, but I’m really thankful for Oldham doing things the right way.”
‘The truth is, I don’t really know how the story ends’
Now with the Roughyeds, who are chasing promotion to Super League, Brierley is focused on helping a club with clear ambitions of its own.
But Salford – and the emotional strain of the last few months – will never be far from his mind. The damage done is monumental, and the veteran back is realistic about how deep the issues run.
He understands the complexity of the situation and the many factors involved, but stresses that everyone connected to the club and the game must shoulder some responsibility.
The boyhood Red Devils fan reflected: “In regards to accountability, I suppose we’re all at fault in some form.
“There are things players could have handled better, the ownership for sure, the RFL… and I suppose we all have a duty of care to protect this competition. I think every one of us could have done things a lot better.”
He finished: “But the truth is, I don’t really know how the story ends.”
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