Salford out to defuse Brough

Salford assistant coach Willie Poching says the Red Devils will look to pressure Danny Brough and close down his kicking game when they face Huddersfield on Thursday.

Brough was vital in the Giants’ season-opening win over Widnes last Friday.

“Danny has the ability to do that,” Poching told the Salford club website.

“We will have a job to do to handle that, as a team. We will have to put him under pressure before he gets boot to ball, which will then make it easier for others to take the kick.”

“Beating Huddersfield in the next game will give us our first win of the season so we want to ensure things go our way.”

Poching described the Giants as a “quality side”.

“And they finished among the leaders, most seasons, in recent years,” he said.

“They still have the core of the team they had two years ago, and there have not been any noises from them throughout the close season. They have just quietly got on doing their job and preparing for the season.

“It is a short turnaround for us, this week, but nevertheless we will have a good look at what they did, last Friday, in overturning Widnes’s initial six-point lead.

“We certainly don’t want that to happen to us; we want to carry on from where we left off against Wigan.”

Salford started its 2017 Super League campaign with a 26-16 loss to Wigan on Saturday.

“This was always going to be a big game for us purely with it being our season’s opener, but to have the champions, at home, also gave us a big opportunity to show ourselves at our best,” Poching said.

“We didn’t quite manage that in the first half, but in the second half we went a long way towards giving ourselves some credibility, with a performance which we can be more proud of.

“Our biggest issue of all, though, is consistency. We need to start well, finish well, and be just as good in between.”