Much more improved performance in attack. Difficult to pin point exactly what the difference was, but obviously Rangi and Sean Long’s influence were key. Some of the sets plays were excellent yesterday with Rangi, Smith and Mullaney are combining and causing problems.


Positives.

As mentioned above, Rangi was very good. Quite a few mistakes for me but I put that down to communication/gelling issues and his natural exuberance. Gave us a good indication of what to expect once fit.

Junior Sa’u was excellent. Clearly still not match fit (I reckon he’s another 4 weeks off) but his enthusiasm was contagious at times. He made 130 metres yesterday (just 6 short of Morley who had the highest in the game) with 17 carries, which for a centre is fantastic work rate and effort. He is evidently loving his time at Salford too.

Morley rolled the years back yesterday and put in a proper prop forward performance. No surprise he was the highest metre maker with 136 and average gain of 7 metres per carry. Top performance.

Jake Mullaney was outstanding in attack, again. He looks a genuine threat every time he links up into the line.

McPherson had his best game in a Salford shirt. Nothing special going forward, although he made hard yards but his defence was solid.


Negatives.

Scoreline flattered Castleford. We should have been out of sight and won the game by 20 points. The clinical nature of our game will come in time though.

Defence was still poor at times. What happened after Tim Smith conceded the penalty and the whole team turned their backs? Amateur stuff.

James Child. Before any Cas fans start, the penalty count was 11-11.

The Salford fan who fell flat on his face in the South Stand celebrating after the game.


You couldn’t not be happy with yesterday though. It was a sharp increase in performance from the previous games. We’re still a long way away from the finishing product, but if we can continue to build on that performance and get Hock and Griffin back fit we should start to make waves.

Full credit to the team and coaching staff. They were rightly and fairly criticised last week, but proved a point yesterday.

Bless.



Wibble.

I think the fact we had a full game with the starting 6-7 pivots we'd spent the whole close season training plays around would have helped, that and the rocket up their behinds from last weeks inept performance .
Offloads are still an issue , without Hock,Gleeson or Chase we've had virtually no recycled ball.
If we are going to break teams down it's got to come from from this 2nd phase play.

I can't believe that it's been over 2 years since we ( Cas ) have not won a game when Child has been the referee.

I also cant leave out Lama Tasi. Worked his nuts off.

I agree.

Although I'm sure time and confidence are a factor here. As players gel and team confidence rises I'm sure we'll see more.

Players and Sean Long credited,quite rightly,but there should be appreciation of the whole coaching team.
Defence was awesome,except when ,to a man,they turned their backs at a penalty !

Do the Wakefield club and supporters really believe that Child has an agenda against them? Would it not be easy enough to raise this through the proper channels? Surely if there is a case to be answered, it will be so blindingly obvious that something will be done? How many of your games has he taken charge of?

Enjoyed the game yesterday, loads of positives, onwards and upwards



Not having a go at Meli, however, he has been poor so far this season.. gone is his instinct to run as the ball lands which is a shame as a few years ago he was devaststing and how many times has he allowed kicks (I know he's not the only one) to bounce?

For me, Danny Williams is no worse and at least plays with passion for the shirt.
Just my opinion

Letting the first kick off bounce was the silliest part of the game & we were very lucky! He should have collected a bomb he let bounce later too. He has his good moments though, he's got serious presence for a winger and isn't shy to use his power when he motivates himself.

A shame we couldn't keep hold of Jodie, having him & Greg Johnson in the team would have been immense.

A couple of things came back to me after watching the highlights on the club site.

Smith looked a much happier player when the weight of being the main creative spark was removed.

Couldn't help but see shades of Patton when Mullaney was joining the line in attack and like him of loath him Patton was a pretty decent attacking option.

It looked like we were trying a few different kick offs yesterday, if only Mullaney/Smith could master the spiral kick off ala Pat Richards.

We still don't utilise the chip over the top, if you've got a super fast winger like Johnson it makes sense to try it every now and then, even if it doesn't work you sew the seed of doubt that you might try it more often and the defense falls back slightly giving you more room to work.

Definitely wasn't Meli's best game. He must have made a few handling errors too. I like him, but I don't think he's a winger anymore. Last year at Saints they used him much effectively in the centres.

He only signed a one year deal didn't he? I imagine he's a decent earner too, be interesting to see which winger we spend some cash on for next season. Pay rise for Greg Johnson for a start though.