Salford Red Devils show fight but uncertainty continues to overshadow season

Salford Red Devils 6 - 38 Hull FC

Salford were unable to halt Hull FC’s play-off push as the visitors collected the points, but the scoreline hardly told the full story.

Author | Amy W

This was another difficult afternoon for the Red Devils, who remain rooted to the bottom of Super League, yet there were moments of encouragement in what has been a season dominated by off-field turmoil.

Amid the club’s ongoing financial crisis, four debutants were named in the side (Dan Russell, Cain Robb, Tom Whitehead and Kobe Rugless) all drafted in on loan in the past week as Salford continue to contend with unpaid wages, ownership uncertainty and player departures. 

Their most significant fixture now comes off the pitch, with a crucial meeting with HMRC looming on Wednesday over a potential winding-up order.

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Despite the challenges, Salford began brightly. Chris Hankinson showed sharp hands to finish well and briefly level the scores after Hull’s Cade Cust opened the scoring with the visitors’ first meaningful attack. The Red Devils showed plenty of character, though tries from Lewis Martin (his 12th of the season) and Davy Litten gave Hull an eight-point cushion at the break.

The second half saw Hull underline their strength as Sam Eseh powered through for a try, followed by Zak Hardaker, Tom Briscoe and Harvey Barron, whose athletic finish in the corner capped a dominant spell for the visitors.

Hull, who have already surpassed their entire 2024 win tally, climbed to sixth as they chase a first play-off spot since 2020. For Salford, however, survival remains the priority (both on and off the pitch) with Wednesday’s meeting likely to define not only the season but the club’s immediate future.

The reaction of one Salford fan

Michael H, a Salford fan, told us: "I thought we dominated most things in the first half, but it flipped on its head second half. They dominated territory, they're physically a big side, and our players were unable to sustain what they did first half and Hull FC had the personnel to put us to the sword."