Salford Red Devils ratings: Nine’s aplenty as ‘everything turns to gold’ for Paul Rowley’s men

Louis Chapman Coombe 29 Aug 2025 10:27 PM

Salford Red Devils prop Justin Sangare in action in 2025

Salford Red Devils gave their fans some much-needed cheer with a brilliant 25-12 win over Warrington Wolves at the Halliwell Jones.

Paul Rowley’s side have endured a rotten run of things in recent months, both on and off the pitch, but they put that to one side to secure only their third win of the season. This win will be even sweeter too, considering most of the club only came together in the past couple of weeks.

Without further ado, here is how we scored the Red Devils on a historic night.

Jack Walker – 8

A superb return to Super League for the Grand Final winner. Looked like a proper threat ball-in-hand, making a couple of linebreaks for his troubles, and marshalled his defence extremely well from the backfield.

Nathan Connell – 8

Came up with some lovely defensive reads to not only thwart Warrington as they looked threatening, but also turned into points for his side. Looks increasingly comfortable at this level.

Louix Gorman – 7

Continues to show his promise, as he did last weekend. His quick-feet just at the point of contact allowed him to consistently gain precious extra metres, and he was consistently available for work too.

Jack Darbyshire – 7

Nabbed a nice try to get his side back into the game, and just carried on from there in a really positive display.

Neil Tchamambe – 7

Another strong showing at this level from the Wakefield Trinity loanee. Trucked hard when needed, getting his team out of trouble on numerous occasions.

Rowan Milnes – 9

His classy drop-goal summed his performance up. Pulled the strings brilliantly in attack, either with his distribution or kicking and helped Salford run away with the win.

Joe Mellor – 9

A superb effort from Mellor, who grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck. Combined exceptionally with those around him, and crucially stepped in to change the tempo at exactly the right moment.

Loghan Lewis – 9

Trucked hard through the middle, and continues to impress in this enforced leadership role he’s been thrust into. His tackle on Thewlis at the death served as the perfect metaphor for his side’s win, and to be honest, he just epitomises the spirit of the Red Devils. Superb.

Sam Davis – 6

Nailed the basics, as he distributed well to get his side playing some nice rugby. Wasn’t afforded a lot of minutes, though, but did well with what he was given.

Justin Sangare – 9

Had the game of his life tonight. His two tries were like something out of an 18+ website, sending Wire defenders flailing with an audacious dummy for the first and then darting through a gap and bumping a defender out the way for the second, and to be honest, he probably deserved more. Everything he set his mind to turned to gold.

Leon Ruan – 7

Gave his all in a valiant effort. Looked to add some nice punch off his edge, giving his side a slightly different dynamic ball-in-hand.

Dan Russell – 8

The Warrington loanee really left his mark on the game tonight. His injection of pace right at the line enabled him to slice through like a knife through butter. Found a quick connection with Milnes too, which allowed both men to shine.

Harvey Wilson – 6

Did well with what he was given, but came off early into the day and didn’t return.

Interchanges

Jayden Nikorima – 7

A welcome return from injury for the half-back. Injected some lovley pace into the attack, and always looked to make the positive choice ball-in-hand too.

Tiaki Chan – 8

His try was just reward for a tidy display. Added some serious steel on both sides of the ball and again just looked to make things happen.

Toby Warren – 7

Another young loanee who is looking increasingly settled at Super League level. Made some big interventions on either side of the ball to keep his side on the front-foot.