Salford Red Devils travel to fourth place Hull, as Ian Watson’s side are looking to avoid four straight defeats.
TEAM FORM GUIDE
Hull FC
Hull continued their erratic form by hammering Catalans in the Challenge Cup. The Black and Whites put 51 past Steve McNamara’s side, despite conceding 50 the week before, Lee Radford’s side were able to bounce back. Hull sit fourth in the table.
Salford Red Devils
The Red Devils did not play last weekend due to being out of the Cup. Their previous three matches have been defeats, with two against Hull KR and the other against league leaders, St Helens. They had won four of the five before that in all competitions.ย The Red Devils sit seventh in the table.
SQUAD NEWS
Hull FC
Joe Westerman returns to the squad after not being named last weekend, despite featuring. Scott Taylor is the player who he replaces due to a calf problem.
Hull FC squad:ย Shaul, Faraimo, Griffin, Kelly, Sneyd, Houghton, Bowden, Hadley, Minichiello, Westerman, Connor, Green, Fash, Manu, Paea, Litten, Washbrook, Naulago, Savelio
Salford Red Devils
Just like Hull, the Red Devils also make only one change.ย Derrell Olpherts is replaced by Greg Johnson. Johnson is yet to feature this season.
Salford Red Devils squad:ย Evalds, Welham, Bibby, Lui, Mossop, Dudson, Jones, Griffin, Lussick, Walker, Burke, McCarthy, Tomkins, Murray, Johnson, Sio, Inu, Pauli, Hastings
HEAD TO HEAD
The first meeting of the season between these sides came back at the beginning of April. Former Red Devil, Josh Griffin scored all three tries for Hull, as the Black and Whites ran out 23-16 victors. The hosts also scored three tries from Niall Evalds, Jackson Hastings and Hull’s new recruit, Josh Jones.
Hull have the stronger record with seven victories out of the last ten against Ian Watson’s side. The last time Salford recorded a win at the KCOM was back in April 2017. The Red Devils ran in 10 tries, including two from Greg Johnson, who may feature in this fixture.
KEY BATTLE- Marc Sneyd vs Jackson Hastings
The battle between these two will have a huge say on who will come out on top. Sneyd and Hastings share top spot on the assist chart, with both sat on 16, one more than Lachlan Coote and Jonny Lomax.
Former Salford man, Marc Sneyd has been known to change a match with his kicking game. The Hull half-back is the only player so far this season to have produced two 40/20s in the Super League. Sneyd will often dictate a game and compliments Albert Kelly well, as Kelly acts as a more direct threat to a defence.
Jackson Hastings is a huge player for Salford with a big future. The Australian has also got five tries to go with his assists. Hastings will keep pressure on defences with his short kicking game, as well as a ball player who is not afraid to attack the line. If Hull can shut him down, they will go a long way to securing the two league points.
THE IMPORTANT DETAILS
Date: Friday June 7th
Venue:ย KCOM Stadium
Kick-off: 7:45PM
Referee: Liam Moore
WHO WILL WIN?
Like a few matches recently, I would suggest Hull will come out on top, however it depends which side turns up. Lee Radford’s side has been referred to as ‘Bi-Polar’ as they’ve proved recently. I think if they are playing well, they will win comfortably enough. But, Salford will be good enough to punish if the Black and Whites aren’t on top form.
