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Turn out in force for 'massive' match

11/ 9/2008

MALCOLM ALKER COLUMN: "I WOULD like to appeal to anyone with a soft spot for Salford City Reds to get themselves down to the Willows tonight, Thursday, September 11. For our Grand Final Eliminator with Celtic Crusaders is a massive game and we want to make our home advantage count.

A packed house at the Willows is a daunting proposition for opposing teams. And, with a place in the Grand Final at stake, I am hoping that we will have our biggest gate of the season tonight.

I consider Celtic to be the best side that we have faced in League One this season. And, if we beat them tonight, I can see us playing them again in the Grand Final. They are very good in the half back area, with Jace Van Dijk having so much variation in his kicking game. But, as a team, they don’t do anything out of the ordinary.

They play an Australian style in that they make sure that they complete their sets and only look to expand the play in the last tackle or two. I think that we are a better team than they are but it’s up to us to prove it out on the pitch.

We have to complete our sets much better and show more energy than we did when we lost at Celtic in the league a few weeks ago. And I’m sure that we will do as we have already proven this season that we can rise to the big occasion.

If we win tonight, it will be the final home game of Paul Highton’s Salford career. The club have announced that Paul is one of several players who will leave at the end of the season. As club captain, I would like to thank all of those players for the contributions they have made this season.

But Paul deserves the biggest pat on the back. He has played for this club for more than 10 years. He has been a great servant and it will be very sad to see such a good player and a loyal club man go.

I think Paul has paid the price for the fine form of fellow props Craig Stapleton and Phil Leuluai. Along with John Wilshere, they are two of the best overseas signings that Salford have made since I joined the club 10 years ago.

Our record with overseas players has not been the best. But we have had much more joy in that department in recent years and I just hope that will continue. We have signed four overseas players for next season so far. North Queensland centre Mark Henry is the latest NRL capture and he is a very good player by all accounts. But if he only gives this club half of what Paul Highton has given I certainly won’t be complaining."