The final game of the Rivals round was a bottom of the table
affair as eleventh placed and embattled Salford red Devils travelled to the south
of France to face a Catalans Dragons who themselves were languishing in ninth
place after a poor start to the season, which has seen them with just three wins
in seven outings.

The Dragons were handicapped by sixteen points on the coupon
with the bookies and pundits alike, unable to see anything other than a decent
sized win for the home side.

The two sides had already met in 2025, the Dragons winning
by 20-12 to eliminate Salford from the Challenge Cup at the quarter finals
stage, the last two league meetings between the two sides in Perpignan saw
Salford leaving without scoring a single point.

A brilliant Luke Keary 40/20 put them on the front foot in
the third minute. On the fifth tackle a Keary chip over the top was chased and
grounded in the corner by Tommy Makinson for the opening try of the game. Guillermo
Aispuro-Bichet was unable to convert from the touchline.

Tevita Pangai Junior was held up over the line on nine by
some great Salford defence but on the next play the ball Tariq Sims took a Keary
short pass to crash over the line. This time Aispuro-Bichet added the conversion,
the Dragons scoring at a point a minute.

A short goal-line dropout from Salford went to Dragons hands
on fifteen, and on the last tackle Julian Bousquet took a pass from Benjamin
Garcia to go in from three metres out. Aispuro-Bichet added a second conversion
for 16-0. The game was awfully one-sided in the opening twenty minutes.

Rather than open the floodgates the early lead galvanised
the Red Devils and they held firm in defence while launching the odd sortie
into the Dragons half seeking their own points. The remaining twenty-five
minutes of the half were pointless, and the sides looked evenly matched. A poor
opening fifteen had cost Salford dear.

Inside the first three minutes of the second half the Dragons
got back in the scoring mood, Chris Satae taking the ball at first receiver and
crashing over from close range. Aispuro-Bichet added the conversion for 22-0.

From the back of the scrum the Dragons were in again,
Makinson weaving his way through the defence and dummying before diving in at
the corner. Aispuro-Bichet adding the touchline conversion for 28-0, all the
Salford endeavours coming to nothing as the Dragons stepped on the gas.

The sixth try for the home side came on the hour mark, Matthieu
Laguerre bumped off a couple of tackles to reach over the line and ground.
Aispuro-Bichet missed for the second time on the night with eighteen minutes to
go.

There was some reward for Salford’s efforts on sixty-seven with
fifty metre try orchestrated by Tiaki Chan before Jake Thewlis found Jonny
Vaughan to drop over the line. Ryan Brierley was wide with the conversion effort,
but the Salford fans celebrated like they had won the game, the whitewash
avoided.

Salford added a second through Chan, carving through the
tiring Dragons defence, to ground right of the sticks. Brierley added the conversion
to put the Red Devils into double figures.

In the dying second Makinson completed his hat-trick as he dived
and took a Keary kick to the corner to score in a single movement.
Aispuro-Bichet added the conversion as the final hooter sounded for a 38-10
win.

With Salford’s ongoing issues there was only ever going to
be one winner, but the visitors deserve some praise for maintaining the integrity
of their line for twenty-five minutes in the first half and staying in the game
for the first forty, and for scoring the two tries in the game to gain some respectability.
The Dragons are up to seventh in table following the win and improve their points
difference into positive figures.

Catalans Dragons: Aispuro-Bichet (G 5/7), Makinson (3T), Laguerre
(T), Yaha, Darrelatour, Keary, Fages, Pangai Junior, Garcia, Bousquet (T), Sims
(T), Sironen, Partington. Subs: Da Costa, Satae (T), Seguier, Navarrete. 18^th
Man: Rouge.

Salford Red Devils: Brierley (G 1/2), Connell, Marsters, Vaughan
(T), Thewlis, Nikorima, Morgan. Ormondroyd, Mellor, Chan (T), Hellewell,
Foster, Wilson. Subs: Shorrocks, Sangare, Makin, Hill. 18^th Man: Yates.

Half-Time: 16-0.

Full-Time: 38-10.  

Score Progression: 4-0, 8-0, 10-0, 14-0, 16-0 :  HT: 20-0, 22-0, 26-0, 28-0, 32-0, 32-4, 31-8,
32-10, 36-10, 38-10 :FT.

Lead Exchanges: Catalans.

Referee: Marcus Griffiths.