Salford’s players are subject of a player welfare massacre: who will step up and help?

There has been so much noise and so many stories lately in the world of rugby league, it’s easy to overlook that the most important issue has not only been staring the sport in the face, but being dangerously neglected.

Salford Red Devils have made the headlines for all the wrong reasons so far in 2025. There are so many threads to pull at in regards to the past, the present and the future.

The club’s new owners, who are utterly anonymous and are leaving hard-working staff on the ground to pick up the pieces, will rightly get a significant number of questions asked of them.

On the field, Salford are stretched to their limit due to two big issues: injuries and the fact they remain under salary cap restrictions imposed upon them by the Rugby Football League.

But this situation dragging on is not only a poor look for Super League, it is creating a player welfare massacre that nobody seems to be bothered about.

While there is renewed – and quite frankly, boring – about another coup at boardroom level and owners arguing among themselves, a group of players are being thrown to the proverbial wolves and being treated in an absolutely disgraceful manner.

The sport is desperate for clear leadership more than ever: if someone was willing to show an ounce of it, they’d get this sorted.

Forget the semantics about Salford as a club for a second. They can be dealt with another time. It is about time the sport remembered these players are human beings, with families and careers that are being impacted week on week.

That some of Salford’s players are playing injured is to their immense credit, and if they do get through this period, the exploits of players like Chris Hill, Justin Sangare and Joe Shorrocks – all name-checked by Paul Rowley as doing just that on Sunday – should never be forgotten. But those players should not be forced to be in a situation where they have to do that. They need protection.

Similarly, speculation that some players are refusing to play due to the ongoing uncertainty and drama – captain Kallum Watkins was publicly named as one over the weekend – should not lead to a backlash from fans. They will have their reasons for refusing to play. It could be medical. It could be family. It could be anything else. But they will have a reason. Do not judge them.

Just like others have decided to play injured, some may decide the risk for them is too much. An already-injured player getting a season-ending injury while they aren’t sure if they are going to be able to pay their bills? That’s a lot of stress: and we all deal with situations like this differently.

Salford’s owners have absolutely embarrassed themselves this week by threatening to fine players who did not play.

After causing them significant mental unrest by paying them late not only once, but twice – all the while, they have put their hand up and done their job – offering to reprimand them for putting themselves first for once is an appalling look.

It should be said that Salford’s new CEO, Chris Irwin, is not in that camp. Irwin gave up a career in football to return to his club: he is a proud Salfordian, and has been thrown in at the coalface to deal with a situation he nor anyone would have anticipated. Just like there are a group of players going through the mill, there are also non-playing staff to consider here.

Which is where a good, strong governing body comes in.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but the RFL would have been mindful to enforce some player sales at Salford over the winter to ensure there was no repeat of the sustainability cap chaos which now engulfs the squad and puts a select few players at increasing risk.

Whether removing that cap in order to help Salford’s stretched squad is a good thing is up for debate. From a player welfare standpoint, there are merits to it. But of course, there are non-rugby reasons why it was enforced: and it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere any time soon.

But that cap now looks to be somewhat pointless given how the purpose of it was to force Salford to cut their spend on salaries.

They now have players like Nene Macdonald, Sam Davis and Ben Hellwell fit and available, but are not allowed to be selected – and being paid their salaries in full. Something must change on that front, fast.

Rugby league’s administrators will shout from the rooftops whenever there’s a good news story and tell you they are the market leaders on player welfare. The events of the last few weeks show this sport is anything but that. It’s too busy arguing amongst itself over who gets the power to notice there are players that may never recover from this.

They will point to a clampdown on head contact as a justification for trying to make the game safer but at the same token, there are a group of players being subjected to treatment you would not expect an amateur club to have to go through.

Is it any surprise players are reaching out anonymously to the media? They have no help, no support and have nowhere to turn.

They are the heroes here. They need their voices heard.

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