Salford have done a good job over the last 2 or 3 seasons of putting the line out there that things are done on a shoestring and it feels a bit like smoke and mirrors. Will they be the biggest spenders in the league? far from it but I've never quite bought in to that narrative, that they seem keen to push. London and Cas are examples of clubs who tried to compete on a shoestring in 2024.

Salford deserve to be lauded for savvy recruitment in the last few years and I'm sure they've signed loads of players whose talent outweighs their salaries but it all feels a bit like they've tried to divert attention from them living beyond their means. Circumstances will have meant them getting players like MacDonald, Sneyd, Watkins, Croft, Hastings, Burgess, Nikorima etc for less then what they may have asked for at another time but their salaries will have still been at a reasonable level and in a totally different league to the sort of money on offer at London and Cas last season.

i agree, and there's no doubt they have almost become the place for players to resurrect their careers, whilst saying its done with no money, which is a little bit of good marketing from them

I have a soft spot for Salford (perhaps because some of my friends are diehards) and dont want to see them going bust, but equally and for the sake of the game, they need to get their house in order.

Same here. My partner and all her family are from Salford and I'd like them to win anything we don't. They've done an amazing job of putting a really good squad together these past few seasons and I guess for a total spend less than other teams who aren't doing anything like as well but clearly they cannot afford the money they're spending. That share scheme for the fans, that raised a few hundred grand, was a massive red flag and you can't help but wonder how some of the fans who paid in to that feel about them doing things like pre season trips to Portugal.

The killer blow was the Sky deal. Unless we see a turnaround in finances the game is going to go down the plughole. I think the RFL need to bank roll Salford in 2025, if only for the integrity of the sport.

Liam Byrne has signed for Warrington for 2026.

Shame to develop him and his prime years be with another team but can’t keep them all.

The production line will keep producing.

Luckily we have the next cab off the rank ready and raring to go in Hill if he kicks on this season (not that he's done owt wrong thus far). It will be interesting to see how this season plays out now. Will Matty Peet keep Byrne on the bench or start to give Hill more time, and Byrne being more of a bit part

its clear that Thompson and Havard are starting props, with Mago our impact player, so it could be that Dupree and Hill become our bench instead of Byrne

It's always going to be a balancing act with a squad as good as this one and keeping them all happy, both from a minutes POV and also in terms of salary will be a challenge. Byrne has frustrated at times but there is a good player in there. I think the move to Warrington will be good for him and maybe Burgess can get that week to week intensity out of him, which is the main thing he's missing, with him having months worth of 'meh' performances but the tying it all together for a few games. As already pointed out, it should then be Harvie Hills time to nail down a spot and I think the potential is there for him to be an upgrade.

you'd assume the club were talking to Byrne about a new contract, and its interesting to see that he has made his decision so early under the new rules

Pretty much agree wholeheartedly with this.
I’ve been a fan of Byrne from the outset and really wanted him to become a consistently dominant prop however, for every good game there are several pretty average games hence why he I’d down the pecking order. Will still be sad to see him exit particularly to Wire. I wish the lad well and hope that he has got himself a decent contract.

Hill and Eseh hopefully are now both really committed to getting a lot more game time in 2025.
With Cooper gone and Byrne to exit I wonder if the plan is to develop Walters as a prop or maybe move Ellis back to front row duties and moving O’Neil to 13. Difficult decisions for KR and MP but a lot better than just a few years ago where we were “making do” with centres and a lightweight pack. I’m pretty confident that the club will have plans in place already with the departure of Byrne.

Good luck to Liam, he will have seen out his contract and that is good enough for me. It does give us more scope within the salary cap and, given that we have a host of promising youngsters coming through our system we will be in a position to secure them on longer term contracts.