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Pete Carey, In the Company Of David Clegg, Brings You Up To Date With Preparations For the Championship U20s Play Off Final

It is almost a month since the U20s’ concluding game of the regular season, in the Championship U20s Competition, and having finished in pole position, have had the luxury of a bye through to the final, whilst Thursday’s opponents, Featherstone Rovers, were forced to earn their place by means of a semi-final victory over York City Knights, last week.

This proved to be most welcome, as the Red Devils would have been deprived of a number of their senior players for various reasons, had they had to turn out in any matches over the intervening three weekends.  Indeed, they may well be facing that scenario on Thursday, with injuries to George Tyson and Jon Ford ruling them out, and with long term injuries still plaguing the first team squad, the likes of Niall Evalds, Jordan Davies, Will Hope and Jordan Walne are all likely to be required to be available for Friday’s Super League encounter with Widnes.  This means that the Red Devils will be taking the field, once again, with a very young side, bolstered only by Alex Davidson, Dan Brotherton and Jack Holmes of senior status.

This in no way has dampened the players’ appetite for the game, and coach, Pete Carey, has been delighted with the enthusiasm and determination they have shown in training.  The only effect that the uncertainty surrounding player availability has had upon the group has been the necessity to train the full squad, rather than just the team.

One problem that has, in the past, been evident with teams earning a bye, is that the layoff tends to blunt their performance a little, in the final.  With Salford’s protracted layoff, compounded by the loss of the South Wales fixture, Pete arranged a friendly game, behind closed doors, against link club, Oldham Roughyeds’ first team, last week, to forestall this.  Not that this was a full out, full blooded encounter, by any means.  Rather it was an opportunity to have a run out against organised opposition, in place of one of the training sessions, and the chance to try out and perfect one or two moves.  Pete is happy to report that the event turned out to have been of benefit to both teams.

With the two protagonists in the final having such totally contrasting stadia from each other, Pete considers that having home advantage could turn out to be crucial.  One only needs to glance at the results of the three league encounters to bear this out.  Whilst struggling on both visits to the cramped confines that is the Big Fellas Stadium, where the Rovers took all four points, the Red Devils completely overwhelmed their visitors on the one occasion that the two met at the Salford City Stadium, going on to a resounding 70-0 victory.  The fact that the Yorkshire side pulled out of the other scheduled match, here, could prove fortuitous to the Red Devils, having prevented the possibility of their adjusting to the spacious surroundings that so unsettled them on their one visit.  Certainly, Pete will be looking to exploit this advantage to the full.

There is no gainsaying, however, that Featherstone on this occasion will present a formidable opposition, particularly in their physical prowess, being so much older and therefore of greater maturity and strength.  Pete is under no illusions as to the importance of his youngsters’ need to manage the Rovers physically, in defence.  This means that the outcome of the game will undoubtedly rest with the Red Devils’ performance overall.  If they successfully channel the enthusiasm they are certainly showing in preparing for the game, into their performance on the night, then that will stand them in good stead to overcome their physically superior opponents.

One further advantage of being at home is that, hopefully, there will be a large and vociferous crowd to spur the players on to victory.  Pete maintains that it is impossible to overstate the importance of this, and that a large and enthusiastic group of supporters giving voice to their feeling can be as positive to the team as having an extra man.  So, please, if you have a spare evening on Thursday do come down and give the lads the bit of encouragement they need.  It would be absolutely marvellous for the club to win one piece of silverware despite all the problems which players, supporters and staff alike have gone through in the last twelve months. Please note the kick off time below.

Referee – Mr A Gill

TJs – J Smith, Pullein

IGs – J Barr, C McDonnagh

 

Venue: Salford City Stadium                                       KO: 7.30

 

Admission – £4 Adults

£2 Concessionaries

Free Season Ticket Holders