MATCH PREVIEW | Salford Red Devils vs Huddersfield Giants
It’s 7th v 10th in round 21’s Thursday night fixture. With a four-point gap opening up between eighth and ninth, a win for any of the bottom four will help to close the gap. Huddersfield will be hoping to do that whilst Salford will hope a win takes them up to fourth on points difference. Here’s everything you need to know.
TEAM FORM GUIDE
Salford
The Red Devils were two wins on the bounce before last week’s 28-12 defeat against Wigan. They also have the third best attack in the competitions, scoring 510 points in twenty rounds so far. This alone could be a key factor when fighting for those final one or two play-off spots.
Huddersfield
The Giants are finding themselves slipping down the table after four losses in a row. In fact, their last win was their 55-2 hammering of Hull back at Magic Weekend in May. They need the victory to get out of the relegation dog-fight with London, Hull KR and Leeds.
SQUAD NEWS
Salford
Head cach Ian Watson has named an unchanged squad to the side that lost to Wigan.
New guy Tui Lolohea will continue his half-back partnership with Jackson Hastings.
However, they will be looking to add more new faces after the news that both Derrell Olpherts and George Griffin will be leaving the club at the end of the season to join Castleford.
Salford 19-man squad: Evalds, Welham, Sa’u, Bibby, Dudson, Jones, Flanagan, Lussick, Burke, McCarthy, Nakubuwai, Tomkins, Johnson, Olpherts, Sio, Inu, Lannon, Lolohea, Hastings.
Huddersfield
The Giants are not having a lucky season when it comes to injuries. Jordan Turner and Dale Ferguson look set to be out long-term and Leroy Cudjoe is set to miss this game but is included in the squad. Both Ferguson and Cudjoe only made their first appearance of the season last weekend.
Jermaine McGillvary is expected to play after recovering from injury. Tom Holmes and Oliver Wilson are included in the 19-man squad.
Huddersfield 19-man squad: McIntosh, McGillvary, Cudjoe, Frawley, Gaskell, Clough, Leeming, Murphy, Mellor, Lawrence, O’Brien, Ta’ai, English, Jake Wardle, Holmes, Ikahihifo, L. Senior, I. Senior, Wilson.
HEAD TO HEAD
The two sides have not met since round 1, when Salford ended up 34-14 winners. A hat-trick from Niall Evalds and a brace from Ken Sio meant the Red Devils got off to the best start possible. It had been fairly even during the first half until Evalds’ second-half hat-trick gave Salford the edge.
KEY BATTLE
Niall Evalds (Salford) v Darnell McIntosh (Huddersfield)
It’s the battle of the young English full-backs this Thursday when Evalds and McIntosh go head to head, which makes the future look bright for our national side.
Evalds became Salford’s leading Super League try-scorer already back in April and that looks set to continue but McIntosh is no slouch, with 27 tries in 45 Giants appearances already. Whilst they are vital in attack, they can also make the big saves in defence when needed.
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The main issue for both clubs will be trying to keep hold of them when the ‘bigger’ clubs come sniffing.
THE IMPORTANT DETAILS
Date: Thursday 4th July
Venue: AJ Bell Stadium
Kick-off: 7.45pm
Referee: Robert Hicks
WHO WILL WIN?
With their placements in the table and the injury toll increasing yet again at Huddersfield, I can’t see anything past a Salford win. I’m sure the Giants will put up a fight but I think Salford will have this one in the bag.
Salford by 12 points.
