Hooooooooooow did that happen

Yes - queried both wholesale changes on Tuesday and Austin’s selection at LF last night.

Never mind, we can sit at home along with Saints & Wigan fans & watch Salford v Leeds in the final.

For me, Price had to look at the conditions and think 'this isn't the right game for Matty Ashton'. He didn't and that decision probably kept Salford in a game you could and should have won.

Ashton is a star in the making and a potential match winner but as soon as the weather showed it's hand we should have put him on the bench and Ratchford to FB.

We have previous for this - abstract team selections so we can shoehorn players into the team.

I don’t get this Ashton to bench...he shouldn’t have been anywhere near the bench. It’s either Ratchford or Ashton starting but now both.
That bench technically was the same as having 1 forward. Because Austin had taken the 13 spot. So if we’d have started BMM at 13 then Austin would have been the bench. Meaning we had only Philbin who plays prop as an interchange.
Once Hill and Cooper were spent, and Clark injures, we were done. If that game lasted another 20 mins, they’d have put another 20 on us.

Hands up all those who derided Tony Smith for not having a back on the bench in the Wigan GF.

It's academic anyway. If that 17 had applied some nous and having twice engineered two score leads had applied some game management, we'd have won.

Spot on.

We had 17 professional rugby league players out there and they have all played in the rain before - incorrect team choice or not, they should have played smarter. Well done Salford...

If Price had left Ashton out and we had lost then people would be asking why after a great start to his career did he get dropped.

Remember how the story on Penny was that Cullen/TS destroyed him by dropping him.

What sort of message would it give Ashton about the confidence the club has in him if Price says "there's a bit of rain around, I don't trust you in these conditions".

If Austin hadn't kicked out on the full near the end there's a 90% chance we win that game.

All the post-mortem examination of this and that team selection and ultimately it comes to small margins about what happened on the field.