Salford V Hull FC - Preview

Salford?s early-season sparkle has gained them new admirers - but coach Karl Harrison insists the best is yet to come.

Back-to-back Engage Super League wins over London and Leigh have put the Reds in great heart for the visit of Hull to the Willows on Saturday night, when they have a chance to join early pacesetters Leeds Rhinos at the top of the table.

Harrison?s men have the best defensive record after the opening three rounds, having conceded an average of just 12 points a game, and now the coach is expecting them to sharpen their attack.

?We played okay against Wigan and London and against Leigh we were cantering,? he said. ?I don?t think we got out of second gear there. So there is still a massive improvement to come.

?Defensively we?ve been very good and now it?s time to start upping our offence. Against better teams you don?t get as many chances to score. Against a team like Hull we need to take our chances.?

Hull, too, have won two of their first three matches to give new head coach John Kear an encouraging start to his reign but he is anticipating a tough test against the resurgent Reds, for whom skipper Malcolm Alker remains the chief danger man.

?If you look at what London did to Wakefield last weekend and then look at what Salford did to London the week before, it gives you an indicator of what they?re about,? said Kear.

?Karl Harrison has been very shrewd in his recruitment. Luke Robinson is an excellent player who I know a lot about and he enjoys directing the team.

?But the one we really have to watch is Malcolm Alker. He is Richard Swain-esque in his performances and he plays the same in minute 80 and he does in minute one.?

Salford are forced to change a winning line-up, with the loss of former St Helens second rower Tim Jonkers to a suspected broken ankle.

The likely beneficiary is 24-year-old Stuart Dickens, who according to his coach has been transformed since his move from Featherstone at the end of last season.

?Losing Tim is a bit of a blow because he was playing really well but it gives someone else a chance and Stuart Dickens is in with a big shout,? said Harrison.

?Stuart has worked really hard and his body has changed shape. He came to us as a fat dumpy kid but now he hasn?t an ounce of fat on him. He?s taken a lot of things on board and has developed really well.?

Hull can call on second rower Stephen Kearney, their high-profile capture from Melbourne Storm, as well as centre Michael Eagar, who has also recovered from injury, but Kear is almost certain to keep an unchanged team.

?Stephen is desperate to play but I have taken the decision that we can afford to keep him back for the time being to eliminate any risk of the injury re-occurring,? he said.

?That is also testament to the players that have been playing so far.?

With Richard Whiting, Gareth Carvell and Paul King still sidelined through injury, Kear is all the more pleased with the start his side have made.

?The way that the other players, especially players like Paul McNicholas and Liam Higgins, have fronted up and spelled at prop forward for us shows what a healthy state we are in,? he said.

?With Paul and Gareth to return we are going to find ourselves with eight props going into four positions. No coach can complain at that.?

Salford City Reds v Hull, Saturday March 5, The Willows

Salford 18-man squad: Beverley, Hodgson, Littler, Stewart, Robinson, Coley, Alker, Rutgerson, Sibbit, Baldwin, Charles, Shipway, Fitzpatrick, Johnson, Haggerty, Dickens, Brocklehurst, McGuinness.

Hull 18-man squad: Briscoe, Blacklock, Yeaman, Raynor, R. Horne, Lupton, Dowes, Swain, McMenemy, Cooke, Tony, Thackray, Saxton, Chester, Higgins, McNicholas, G. Horne, Barnett.

Thanks to: http://www.superleague.co.uk for another excellent article.