Super League: Wakefield Trinity 20-28 Salford Red Devils - Salford end season with win
- Published
Salford Red Devils have won three of their four games since losing the Challenge Cup final
Betfred Super League |
|---|
Wakefield (4) 20 |
Tries: Hampshire 2, Tanginoa 2 Goals: Hampshire 2 |
Salford (22) 28 |
Tries: Watkins, Evalds, Chamberlain, McCarthy Goals: Inu 3 |
Salford Red Devils finished their season with a win by defeating Wakefield Trinity in Super League.
Kallum Watkins touched down inside two minutes at Headingley and Niall Evalds stretched their lead shortly after.
Ed Chamberlain's kick and chase and Tui Lolohea's try came either side of a Ryan Hampshire reply for Trinity.
Kelepi Tanginoa with two tries and Hampshire reduced Salford's 22-4 lead to two points but Tyrone McCarthy pounced to wrap up the victory.
The fixture was the last of the season for both sides after the Super League play-offs were brought forward on Tuesday after an outbreak of Covid-19 at Hull KR.
Salford initially had an outside chance of qualifying for a top-six place as a standby team if they finished seventh.
But they were docked three wins by the RFL for failing to meet the terms of a financial commitment agreed in 2013.
Despite neither team having anything to play for, Salford surged ahead with a classy first-half performance, which was matched by Wakefield's thrilling comeback after the break.
The Red Devils' indiscipline cost them as Trinity kept pushing, with Tanginoa scoring his second soon after prop Lee Mossop was sent to the bin for a trip.
However, Innes Senior spilled the ball from Lolohea's grubber kick and McCarthy reacted quickly to ground the ball and end Salford's campaign with a third consecutive win.
Wakefield head coach Chris Chester:
"Having to change the team an hour and a half before kick-off wasn't ideal. That kind of typifies what's been going on this year. You've got to try and make things up at short notice.
"I'm glad to see the back of it to be honest. Considering everything, I thought it was a real positive display.
"We were a little bit loose in the first 30 minutes but we knew the areas we needed to fix.
"We played some decent stuff in the second half but we gave ourselves too much to do."
Salford Red Devils head coach Ian Watson:
"We built everything around this game being Flash's (Mark Flanagan') retirement, Kallum Watkins' 300th game and Dan Sarginson's 200th.
"I know Dan had to pull out in the warm-up but that meant Niall Evalds got to play his last game.
"Flash has been sensational for us. As a person, he works really hard for his team-mates and never quits.
"When I first came into the job, that was something I wanted to bring into the club and it's been an absolute honour to have worked with him."
Wakefield: Hampshire, Jones-Bishop, Lyne, Tupou, Senior, Wood, Bailey, Tanginoa, Bowes, Kopczak, Batchelor, Pitts, Arona.
Interchanges: Walker, Fifita, Green, Battye.
Salford: Sarginson, Kear, Watkins, Chamberlain, Inu, Lolohea, Atkin, Mossop, Jones, Yates, Ormondroyd, Pauli, Flanagan.
Interchanges: Ackers, Burke, McCarthy, Ikahihifo.
Referee: L Moore.