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Injury boosts

SALFORD will field an almost full strength side in their clash of the titans with Halifax as Phil Leuluai, Robbie Paul, Stephen Bannister and Ian Sibbit have all been passed fit to play.

But young prop Stephen Nash is expected to miss the home game tomorrow, Friday, June 27, kick-off 8pm, after picking up a sternum injury in Salford’s 20-18 defeat at Widnes on Thursday night.

He has joined fellow prop Lee Jewitt (knee) and hooker Chris Borgese (hamstring) on the sidelines and is set to be replaced in the front row by Leuluai.

Kiwi ace Leuluai sat out the Widnes match with a neck strain. Half back star Paul and utility man Bannister were nursing respective shoulder and dead leg injuries after that game but head coach Shaun McRae says that the duo will play against Halifax.

Second rower Sibbit is also set to feature after a specialist gave him the all clear to return from a month-long knee injury lay-off. He is likely to start on the bench with young centre Jason Walton dropping out of the team.

McRae said: "A specialist has confirmed to us that there is nothing structurally wrong with Ian Sibbit’s knee, which is what we feared last week. We are very hopeful of him coming back into the side this week.

"Phil Leuluai will definitely be back after recovering from his neck problem, which is great news for us.

"We missed Phil against Widnes. He provides us with a lot of go-forward, he hits very hard in defence and the week off will have freshened him up nicely."

Salford go into battle a point behind Halifax in the National League One table.

Victory tomorrow would see the Reds regain top spot and deliver what could prove to be a key psychological blow to their main title rivals. And the Salford players do not need reminding that there are cup final places up for grabs with the Reds to take on Doncaster for the Northern Rail Cup the following week.

McRae said: "The most important thing this week is that we respond to the Widnes defeat. We turned too much ball over against Widnes and discipline was a problem with us giving away too many penalties again. Those are the things we have been working on improving this week. We need to hold on to the ball more and put sides under more pressure. I have said all along that Celtic are the best side that we have played this season. But we have not played Halifax yet. They are clearly a good side. They finished third last season and they have recruited very well this year. Having seen tapes of them, I know they have a strong forward pack and are very quick from dummy half. They really test you down the middle defensively and their record shows that they score a lot of points. But our defensive record is much better than theirs. We have to use that to our advantage and do everything we can to get that top spot back."

Family stand and west stand tickets are still available for the Reds’ cup final at Blackpool’s Bloomfield Road ground next Sunday, July 6, kick-off 2.45pm.

Adult and concession season ticket holders can buy tickets for £2 less than their face value and all junior season ticket holders will get in for free when accompanied by an adult.

Competition sponsors Northern Rail have commissioned a ticket only train to head to Blackpool from Eccles Station at 9.37am and to return at 6.35pm. A return ticket costing £5 for adults and children plus tickets for the game are available from Salford’s club shop on: 0161 736 6564.

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