Report by Frank ‘Scoop’ Grundy

Near misses by the Reds centres Imad Nasir and Max Wiper denied Salford the first early score, and fans had to wait until the 30th minute for normal service to be resumed by the impressive Academy side. A break down the wing from his own half by flying winger Richard Lepori set the wheels in motion and a great inside pass sent classy stand off Lewis Palfrey in near the posts for a try which he converted himself.

As half time approached the game had been very evenly matched, with the Reds pack working hard to win the arm wrestle against their highly rated opponents. Second rows Ben Wood and Jason Walton along with loose forward Jack Spencer were tireless in their determination to subdue the Wolves, and their effort was rewarded with a second try before the hooter, again converted by Palfrey and the Reds went in with a 12-0 lead.

So far, so good. And it was about to get a whole lot better.

The Reds began the second half in great style when fullback Jonathon Youds backed up superbly and then showed an impressive turn of pace to leave the Wolves trailing in his wake as he raced in at the corner. This time Palfrey was unsuccessful with the conversion, but the Reds were now firmly in control at 16-0. But they weren’t done yet!

A fantastic kick by Lewis Palfrey was collected by Richard Lepori who passed back inside to Palfrey for a wonderful score. The conversion made the score 22-0 after 52 minutes. Warrington struck back with their only score of the game - a 60 yard interception by the Warrington stand-off. The conversion was missed and the rest of the game was one way traffic.

On 71 minutes a spectacular try by the Reds saw the ball pass through at least six pairs of hands before ending up fullback Jonathon Youds, who again finished the move off in style. Some might have expected the Reds to ease up at 26-4, but the final few minutes saw further tries for prop Paul Steele and substitute Josh Saunders, both of which were converted to make the final score 38-4.

Another magnificent performance from the Academy lads who are proving to be a really tight-knit unit, all working hard for each other, tackling well and showing great expansion and enthusiasm in attack! An absolute joy to watch at the moment and well worth the entrance fee.

Another fantastic performance from the lads, winning 38-4 against Warrington Wolves at The Willows and continuing to look hugely impressive. Frank Grundy’s match report will be up early next week.

Well done to Alan Hunte and his team! Get down and watch them if you can - well worth it!

Hot off the press. The reserve game against Workington, scheduled for 2.30pm, Saturday 17 May at The Willows has been postponed due to Workington being unable to raise a team.

The fixture will be rescheduled in the next seven days.

So that means if you were coming to see it you can now head to Castle Irwell and give your support to New Broughton Rangers who kick off at 2.30pm against Barrow.

Seeya there!

Report by Frank Grundy

The game took eighteen minutes to kick into life, with neither side able to string together enough passes to score. From a short grubber kick over the line, Reds number 5 Eddie Vaughan touched down, with stand off half Mark Sneyed converting the try.

From the restart the Reds knocked on and the Leeds winger capitalised to dive over in the corner. A missed conversion made the score 6-4 to the Reds after 21 minutes. This was the cue for the Reds to go on a try scoring binge, started by Luke Ambler - who was having a great game - when he offloaded to sub Ben Wood who used his mountainous physique to great effect to crash over.

Only ten minutes later, winger Eddie Vaughan touched down for his second try, with a great conversion from Sneyed making the score 16-4. The Reds weren’t done yet, and it wasn’t long before the Reds number 14 completely hoodwinked the Rhinos defence for yet another try, again well converted. By now the Reds were in dreamland - 22-4 up against the highly thought of Leeds outfit, and well deserving such a lead.

The Rhinos rallied briefly with tries on 63 and 64 minutes to make the score 22-12, but eight minutes from the end great passing from Reds number 7 Anthony Griffiths and Eddie Vaughan put Max Wiper through for a classy but unconverted try, giving us a final score of Reds 26 - 12 Rhinos.

This was a great performance by the Reds and beating an always strong Rhinos side is not something that happens by fluke. Man of the match Luke Ambler played for most of the match but was pushed hard for the award by great performances from Jason Walton, Ben Wood and Marlon Alker.

There is some real talent in the Reds junior ranks and they deserve as much support from the Reds fans as possible. With these lads and Alan Hunte in charge, the future of the Reds looks very rosey indeed!

Report by Frank Grundy.

For the first 15 minutes the Reds were out of sorts - a combination perhaps of lack of match practise, a lot of new faces and a biting wind which led to a lot of dropped passes and penalties during the opening exchanges. Things quickly got much better, with Reds going on to score eight tries and seven goals by the time the final hooter sounded, including a hat-trick for Daley Williams who looked very sharp and fit, along with a brace of tries for Adam Sidlow who was busy throughout and once again pushed his claim for an extended run in the first team.

The first points however went to Oldham on 15 minutes as they converted a penalty after a play the ball offence by the Reds in front of their own posts. The Reds number 13 Josh Saunders responded almost immediately with a try following a good run. The conversion was successful from under the posts courtesy of the boot of Reds winger Darren Fletcher. Oldham refused to lie down though and scored a try of their own on 20 minutes when a cross field kick was collected by Lucas Onyango and converted by Stephen Fisher to give Oldham an 8-6 lead.

Again the Reds struck back immediately when Daley Williams swerved and stepped his way over for a great first try. Salford then dominated up until half time, scoring again to go in with a healthy 16-8 lead.

The second half began as the first had ended with a further try for the Reds, with hooker Mark Hobson crashing over for a converted score near the posts. Good play and excellent handling created the opportunity for Adam Sidlow to score his first try of the game, and the big forward’s super dummy and surprising turn of pace saw him scoot over untouched from 30 yards out.

The next try gave trialist fullback Jonny Campbell a chance to show what he hopes to do regularly for the Reds in future - an impressive break, swerve and change of pace completely bamboozling his opposite number. The procession of Reds tries continued right up until the end with Adam Sidlow adding to his tally and Daley Williams again showing he still has all the talent required to make it at the very top of the game by completing a fantastic hat trick.

All in all a very satisfying run out for the Reds after a shakey start and a really good game to watch.

Final Score: Reds 46 Oldham 8