Watson willing to experiment with Red Devils

Salford coach Ian Watson is ready to mix and match in his back line to improve the Red Devils’ attackign threat in 2016.

Salford eased past Rochdale Hornets 44-16 in their opening pre-season game at the weekend at Spotland.

The game saw Watson try players in different positions, with Gareth O’Brien taking over from Niall Evalds at full-back at one stage.

“We’ve been having a look at different ways to play,” he said.

“Obviously Gareth O’Brien has got that skill factor. He’s a half-back by nature, so he can play off to our edges.

“We’ve got people like Justin Carney on the edge, and people like Josh Griffing and Junior Sa’u who can return the ball as well.

“So we’re looking to bring the ball to them, rather then them having to keep looking for it.

“So mixing it up between Niall Evalds and Gaz is a good option for us.”

New signing Rob Lui was also impressive, according to Watson.

“I thought Rob Lui added a bit of skill factor when he came on,” he said.

“We changed the way we were playing slightly.

“It’s getting back into the habit of playing rugby league and learning to manage the game properly.

“I think our halves did that after about 30 minutes of the first half, they got to grips with the game and controlled it from there.”