Utter bull – Paul Rowley denies being told of strike threat by Salford players

South Wales Guardian

16-07-2025

It was reported earlier this week that some senior players had threatened to pull out of the Betfred Super League clash following renewed uncertainty around the Red Devils' financial position and had informed club officials, including Rowley, of this.
A Rugby Football League spokesperson confirmed to the PA news agency on Tuesday that a meeting was due to take place on Wednesday with players, the club, the RFL and the Rugby League Cares charity in attendance.
Rowley clarified his understanding of the situation prior to taking questions at Wednesday's press conference, saying: 'Just a couple of things so you can get it in early… One, I read an article saying I'd been made aware of certain players not playing, etc.
'That's not true, nobody's approached me. I've not had any dialogue or regard in that. That's utter bull.
'Second, RFL are coming in. That was at the request of the players, they've not come in like on a white horse or anything, it's been at the request of the players just for some clarity and some good chat.
'They're kindly doing that, so that's all good. That's not the gravitas that it was made out to be.'
The 21-man squad for our trip to AMT Headingley! 🔒 pic.twitter.com/jhxTp5kD18
— Salford Red Devils 👹 (@SalfordDevils) July 16, 2025
Salford have been operating under salary cap restrictions since the start of the season following a drawn-out takeover process and the late payment of some wages.
The club named their 21-man squad ahead of Friday's trip to Headingley, which remains unchanged from the group picked for last week's clash against Castleford – with the exception of three players absent due to injury.
Jayden Nikorima, Esan Marsters and Loghan Lewis are all missing after picking up injuries against the Tigers, and Rowley provided an update on their progress.
'Loghan is obviously HIA so he can't play on Friday and the other two boys, they'll definitely be long term,' the head coach said.
A second #SuperLeague victory of the season for @SalfordDevils 😈 pic.twitter.com/V9dxDo8iXz
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) July 13, 2025
'Jayden's got a fractured arm, Esan's got damage to his shoulder so we're just awaiting the appointment with a specialist to talk through the results of the scan.
'That's long term, we're not going to see Esan for a while.'
In place of those players, Charlie Glover, Finley Yates and Sam Hill have been named in the squad for the Leeds game.
Salford will be looking to build on last weekend's 26-22 victory over Castleford, their second Super League win of the season, which ended a 13-game losing run.
However, they face a tough test against Leeds, who are fifth in the table.