Sunday 2 September 2018 20:15, UK
Salford coach Ian Watson is hoping to try and keep star player Jackson Hastings at the club beyond this season after he inspired a thumping 62-4 win at Championship side Halifax.
The Red Devils signed the former Sydney Roosters and Manly Sea Eagles half-back in mid-July on a deal until the end of the season.
The 22-year-old Australian, released by Manly in June, has made a huge impact since his arrival and scored two of Salford's 12 tries against Halifax.
Salford's hopes of signing Hastings on a permanent deal are dependent on them securing Super League survival and this latest win marked their straight third win in the Qualifiers. Hastings is attracting interest from rival clubs.
"Time will tell if we can keep Jackson but we have asked the club to give us the best shot we can of doing so. He's really keen on us securing our Super League future before moving forward," commented Watson after his side's victory.
"There will be other clubs looking at him and want to have a little look at him now whereas they probably didn't before because of his reputation.
"We did our homework on Jackson, spoke to an awful lot of people over in Australia, and they all gave us really positive feedback on him.
"We were happy to take that punt and it's to our benefit at the moment. Hopefully we can keep him."
Salford had too much quality for their hosts and tries from Hastings, Ed Chamberlain, Derrell Olpherts (two), Ben Nakubuwai and Kris Welham helped them into a 30-4 interval lead.
From there the Red Devils did not look back and second-half scores from Olpherts, Lama Tasi, Junior Sa'u (two), Hastings and Josh Wood completed a handsome victory.
"The first 20 minutes we were a bit scratchy but the boys adapted very quickly and from there we were outstanding," added Watson.
"Our middle men set the platform and from there Jackson and Rob Lui were able to do what they do best."
Halifax, who opened the scoring through Sam Wood, remain pointless in the Qualifiers after previous defeats to Toronto and Toulouse.
Head coach Richard Marshall saw prop Jordan Baldwinson and loose forward Simon Grix forced off with knee and facial injuries during the first half.
"I thought Salford were outstanding today and probably showed why they are top of this competition," said Marshall.
"They looked desperate, they looked organised and they competed well.
"In the first 20 minutes, we were in the arm wrestle but made a couple of key errors at key times which got punished by a very good Super League team.
"I was obviously disappointed with the scoreline because I think we're a better team than the scoreline suggests - but the reality is that they were in total control."
