Salford v Hull FC: Teams
Salford boss Shaun McRae welcomes his ailing former club to The Willows on Saturday.
Last Updated: 24/04/09 4:53pm
Salford boss Shaun McRae welcomes his ailing former club to The Willows in Super League on Saturday.
McRae recalls forward Adam Sidlow in place of the suspended Ian Sibbit for the visit of the Airlie Birds to the north west.
Three-quarter Darrell Goulding, on loan from Wigan, is set for his home debut and ex-Wigan winger Andrew Thornley is also added to the Salford squad.
Having turned over their opponents in a 22-18 Carnegie Challenge cup shock, the Reds went on to record back-to-back wins over Warrington and Leeds over Easter.
Their revival was halted abruptly when they crashed to a 38-6 defeat by Catalans Dragons in Perpignan last Saturday but McRae is confident his side can bounce back.
"I like to think it was a blip," he said. "We've had an opportunity to recover this week. We had a couple of days off at the start of the week and, hopefully, we can pick up from where we left off before the Catalans game.
"I did feel before the Hull FC victory in the Challenge Cup that we weren't that far away, but we're more on the speed of Super League now.
"I'm not sure we're quite on the speed like St Helens are - they are head and shoulders above most other teams with the way they play the game - and it will take us a while to get to that.
"But we're a lot closer to the pace of the game and a lot smarter. That comes from people using their experience."
Hull FC head into the game on the back of a five-match losing streak, meanwhile, but are boosted by the return from injury of half-back Richard Horne and prop forward Peter Cusack.
There is no place for Craig Hall, while Chris Thorman is likely to switch from scrum-half to full-back.
Richard Agar's team briefly topped the Super League standings after winning their opening five games and McRae, who was in charge at the KC Stadium from 2000-04, is confident the visitors will turn round their fortunes in the not too distant future.
"I find it astonishing," he said. "They're a good side and they've got far too many good players.
"They are not playing that badly, they just can't quite get that win. Apart from the St Helens match, they've been in the games which could have gone either way.
"It's only round the corner, but I hope they've got to go round two corners to get to it!"
Salford squad: Fitzpatrick, Myler, Thornley, Jewitt, Turner, Smith, Wilshere, Cashmere, Alker, Stapleton, Goulding, Parker, Swain, Sidlow, Littler, Leuluai, Paul, Adamson, Ratchford.
Hull FC squad: Calderwood, Yeaman, R. Horne, Thorman, Dowes, Berrigan, Cusack, Radford, Tickle, Whiting, Washbrook, Manu, G. Horne, Thackray, Houghton, Burnett, Lee, Maloney, Broughton.