A meeting will take place this afternoon to determine whether Salford Red Devils’ clash with Wakefield Trinity can go ahead, it has been confirmed.
The Red Devils are due to host Wakefield at the Salford Community Stadium on Sunday afternoon but as it stands there are genuine fears about whether Paul Rowley will be able to field a 17-man team following an exodus of players.
Rowley named nine loanees in his side last week to take on Hull FC after the RFL gave the troubled club special dispensation around the number of loanees they could play and the length of the deal. As such, the likes of Wigan Warriors, Leeds Rhinos and St Helens helped out the Red Devils but those who pulled on the red jersey couldn’t prevent the club from being beaten 80-6 by the Black and Whites.
The Salford head coach admitted after that game that he didn’t think club’s would be falling over themselves to send more players to Salford this week, and so far they haven’t announced any more temporary additions to their side, with teams seemingly being unwilling to put their youngsters through another experience like Sunday.
Those players on a one-week loan have now returned to their parent clubs, while Tom Whitehead has also been recalled by Warrington Wolves, meaning there are now question marks about whether Salford will have enough to field a team against Wakefield.
As such, as first reported by The Sun’s Gary Carter, it has been confirmed to Serious About RL that a meeting will take place at 3.30pm this afternoon to make a decision on whether the game can go ahead at all.
Of course, the Red Devils do have a number of youngsters to fall back on but there have been welfare issues in the past when those players have been called upon en masse.
Therefore, should the Super League fixture be called off, it seems the likelihood is that it would be classed as a forfeit. In that instance, Wakefield would automatically be handed a 48-0 win with the Red Devils also set to face compliance action.
Both clubs would undoubtedly rather see the game go ahead, but in reality, a forfeit would suit Wakefield, giving them the two points they need to bolster their push for the top six and allowing them to approach the final five games of the season having had a weekend off.
In such an instance, how Salford would be able to finish the season from that point though obviously remains up in the air.
