Salford Red Devils restrictions latest as worrying update provided by Paul Rowley

Salford Red Devils coach Paul Rowley has admitted he still has no idea what kind of team he will be able to select to face Leeds Rhinos on Saturday.

The club remain under RFL-imposed restrictions after facing significant financial issues over the winter. They can currently only field a maximum of £1.2million of talent after the governing body acted in recent weeks.

Rowley and Salford then caused huge controversy by selecting the reserves to face St Helens on Saturday evening. They were subsequently beaten 82-0 in a record defeat for the opening round of the new Super League season.

The club’s new owners had insisted they believed restrictions would be lifted in time for their first home game of the season on Saturday.

But when Rowley was asked if he knew who he could pick this weekend in his pre-match press conference, he simply said: “No.”

Rowley then explained: “It’s a simple answer to a simple question. I’ve got nothing else other than no.”

The Salford head coach admitted the situation was ‘very frustrating and said: “We can only prepare as if we’re playing a full team. It’s been three and a half months really. It’s been a long slog for the lads. It’s very frustrating for everybody. We’re just trying to keep it together as best we can.

“The dialogue is between the RFL and the CEO. You’d have to ask them. All we can do is prepare to play. We’re ready to go again and there’s not much more we can do. It’s unprecedented really to start a season witha complex takeover. It’s never been done before. In 150 years I don’t recall it, not that I’ve been around 150 years, but it feels like it the last few weeks.”

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