BIG PHIL TO GOOD FOR THE BENCH , WHY IS OUR STAND OUT PLAYER OF THE SEASON SO FAR ALWAYS LEFT ON THE BENCH,WHEN HE COMES ON HE ALWAYS MAKES GOOD YARDS AND NEVER TAKES BACKWARD STEPS , I BELEIVE MCREA HAS FORMED A MATES TEAM , WHICH IS REFLECTED IN OUR CURRENT POSTION , ALSO WHY IS THERE NO SALFORD LADS IN THE TEAM

Have you seen the state of the local RL amateur game in Salford.
It is a shambles.
The club are trying to get this right, but until this is done we wont see any local lads pulling on the shirt

I don't really think this post is worth a response but it's riled me so i have to!!

Smithy68 - have you really been watching Salford since the 70s? or did you in fact start watching them about 3 weeks ago? Or are your posts just a really subtle form of satire aimed at those fans who say these kind of things and I'm too dim to pick it up???

Do you think that Leuleuai can play more than 40-50 minutes a game? By saying "he's too good for the bench" do you mean he should be on the pitch for the full 80 or do you just mean that he should be on for the first 20 or so before being replaced by one of the other props?

If you think he (or 90+% of props in the modern professional game) should play 80 minutes regularly you are certifiably insane, he is no way near fit enough (most props train to do short high intensity spells rather than long sustained spells) and he would have to pace himself a lot more thus reducing his impact. He plays superbly when he comes off the bench and is running into tiring players in more open game situations. That's why he's used as he is. Start him from the beginning and he'll make no more impact than the current starting props.

If you think he should just be on for the first 20, do you think he would be too good for the bench when he is replaced by one of our "lesser props"? If so, what do we do then?

He has been in superb form this season and there is an argument that he should be one of our starting 2 but for me he is almost the walking definition of an impact player and is perfect for coming off the bench. He is on the pitch for pretty much as long as all the other props, just at different times

Presumably what Mcrae does is choose his mates to play the first 20 minutes cos that's the really easy bit when the other team are at their freshest and most fired up and then sends in the players he hates (like Big Phil) to do the really hard, unglamorous, unsung stuff

I think that the use of Leuleuai has been one of the few positives this season. Agree with you Redunderthebed that he is an almost perfect impact player for us.

Agree with the previous comments concerning big Phil , a rare positive so far this season.

ONLY STARTED WATCHING 3 WEEKS AGO ,I WISH THEN I WOULD NOT HAVE ,HAD TO SUFFER AS MUCH AS I HAVE WATCHING MY BELOVED REDS , I AM SAYING BIG PHIL SHOULD START FROM THE OFF , TRY STAPLETON AS AN IMPACT PLAYER, BIG PHIL HAS BEEN ONE OF THE BIG PLUSES IN A SO FAR DISMAL START

YES I HAVE FOLLY AND LANGWORTHY REDS BOTH HAVE VERY GOOD UNDER 18 TEAMS , THE LAST TIME SALFORD HAD TWO LOCAL LADS IN THE TEAM WAS WHEN WE WERE IN THE SEMI OF THE CHALLENGE CUP , MCAVOY AND CUSSONS , OR AM I WRONG

wrong the last i can remember is danny barton and michael platt aganist wakefield in 2001

We have two local lads in the squad now, Jack Spencer and Lewis Palfrey. Ok their not quite ready for a first team start yet, but considering the lack of talent in Salford we're not doing too bad. As for the point about folly and langy U18's they both lie in the bottom in NWC Div 1 not exactly that good is it? And they're the only two clubs in the area to run an U18's and us at Folly are the only club in Salford to run at every age from U9's, my point being amateur rugby in the city is crap, hence the lack of local lads in the first team.

always has been crap as i stated else where Salford is not a Rugby City and despite the cost of going to watch football it will always fall under the spell of the spherical shape ball game.