Salford head coach Paul Rowley fears a lack of discipline could cost his side their chance of clinging on to a place in the Betfred Super League top six.
Salford’s defeat to Leigh at Elland Road left them just three points clear of their seventh-placed opponents with five games left before the play-off places are confirmed.
The Leopards cruised to a 26-0 victory thanks to tries from Edwin Ipape, Umyla Hanley, Zak Hardaker and Ricky Leutele in a match where the Red Devils’ were temporarily down to 11 men after Ethan Ryan and Brad Singleton were both sin-binned for high tackles.
Asked if Salford were architects of their own downfall due to the two costly first-half infringements, Rowley said: “Absolutely, you can’t play with 11 men.
“So discipline, both sides of the ball with and without the ball.
“The damage (was) done in that period, probably physically it was too difficult for us and it took it’s toll in the end.”
With Salford set to play both Wigan and Hull KR in their remaining five games, the pressure is on for the Red Devils to hold on to the final play-off spot.
However, Rowley maintains his side will not be affected by the increased pressure, adding: “If anyone is panicking, it’s not where I am. Nobody was panicking near me, so we’re all right.
“There’s no panic, but there’s always pressure.
“That’s internal pressure, not external pressure. We all concern ourselves with what we do and the thoughts of what we have within our own and nothing else.”
Leigh’s win reignited their own top six hopes, but head coach Adrian Lam insisted he will remain focused on each round of the run-in.
“It’s just important that what we are in control of at the moment is that 80-minute performance, so it’s one week at a time.” said Lam.
“If we look too far ahead, things can turn ugly pretty quickly. It’s just making sure we work hard together every day and we work for those 80 minutes.”
When asked about the experience of playing at the ground of his favourite football team, Leeds, Hardaker added: “It’s the first time I’ve played here, so obviously I was looking forward to playing here.
“I come here and watch Leeds United quite often, so to score a try and a few kicks, it’s pretty good, I’ll take it.”
Text author: Harry Whitfield, PA
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