Paul Rowley assesses ‘punch in the face’ injuries as Castleford Tigers victory ‘reward’ for hard work

Salford Red Devils head coach, Paul Rowley, feels yesterday’s victory over Castleford Tigers was just reward for his players’ adversity after suffering three key injuries.

Rowley’s side secured just their second victory of the season with the 26-22 triumph over the struggling Tigers, who had sacked head coach Danny McGuire in the build-up to the game. That now pushes them back to within two points of Huddersfield Giants in 11th, with nine regular season fixtures remaining.

Salford have also put in vastly improved performances of late, pushing Warrington Wolves close in their previous outing.

‘Them boys getting the reward for their hard work’

Speaking after the game, boss Rowley said the win was the best reward for his players’ attitude and hard work in the face of adversity.

“I’m not really into ranking games, I think they all have different qualities and you can judge everything by its own merits,” he said.

“I think the reward for me is what we do in the week, the attitude through the week and seeing it transpire into the performance and them boys getting the reward for their hard work.

“There were a lot of good things to admire, a lot of good things to get excited about today.”

Doing it tough

The performance was a throwback to the Salford of old, particularly in attack, but it was by no means easy for them. Star centre Esan Marsers suffered a dislocated shoulder in the act of scoring, key half-back Jayden Nikorima picked up a serious arm injury and was later seen in a sling, and returning forward Loghan Lewis also failed an HIA.

With all the cards stacked against them, which Rowley said was like being ‘punched in the face’, the head coach outlined his side’s character to fight to victory.

“Some great performances, but like I said before, the adversity we’ve had from day one, but even today, we were punched in the face a few times with Jayden Nikorima and Esan Marsters both going off.

“Loghan Lewis, super excited, bump, knockout, and then we were down to one sub with a whole half of rugby to play in really stifling conditions.

“It came down to that situation where everybody’s got to make a choice of what they want to do. Do they tip their toe in and do it half-heartedly, or do they want to commit and it’s going to be tough, it would hurt, but they took the latter option and they got their reward.”

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