RYAN Brierley has heard it all before – Salford should be nowhere near Super League’s Play-Offs.
However, that only served as motivation to propel them not only to the top six but to a home tie in front of the biggest crowd they have ever had at the Community Stadium.
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After selling Brodie Croft and Andy Ackers, hot on the heels of Tyler Dupree, many pundits tipped the Red Devils to finish closer to the bottom than the top – Leigh owner Derek Beaumont may have dished out the humble pie last week but, if anything, it should be Salford serving up.
Working with both hands tied behind their back financially – thanks to a stadium deal even today’s council leaders are privately furious at – they were seemingly restricted them to cast-offs and hand-me-downs.
But boss Paul Rowley – who will reverse the mountain of changes he made in resting almost his entire first team at Wigan – has made a silk purse from a sow’s ear and full back Brierley, a boyhood Red Devils fan who stood on the terraces, hopes to prove people further wrong.
He said: “We were probably left with no choice but to defy expectations. All the pundits and experts had us 11th, so we used that as motivation.
“That was understandable. It was a well-educated prediction given the turmoil and controversy we had to go through.
“And we’re not the most talented group, so we rely on other things – togetherness and team spirit – but naturally, it’s in the back of your mind when people write you off.
“The coaching staff are a big part of that. They let us be who we are, unapologetically. We’ve a lot of weird and wonderful characters in our team but if you look after a person the right way, you get the best out of them.
“Nene Macdonald is probably the prime example of what Paul Rowley can do to a player. He’s a great ability to make us perform under the pressure we put ourselves under too.
“We’re always our own worst critic and we’ve demonstrated great ability to bounce back from defeats because we’ve had to – it’s also satisfying to see clubs with bigger budgets finish below us.
“It shows that sometimes you don’t need class facilities and the money. If you create something more powerful from within, years like this one for us can happen.”
Salford may have progressed on the field but the biggest step forward has come off it, the city council’s deal to buy partners Peel out of the stadium.
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SunSport understands all it needs now is for contracts to be signed and the club can finally start to access funds it has been deprived of for 12 years – food and beverages and sponsorship deals can all be activated after waiting for the go ahead.
City Mayor Paul Dennett will be cheering them on tonight, Leigh fan and Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham may also be in the stands.
Scenes previously unseen were spotted this week, queues around the ground for tickets as hopes of a sellout remain.
But despite the euphoria, there is a job to do – go one step from a first Grand final since 2019’s fairytale.
Brierley, who scored 154 tries for Leigh, added: “It’s a special achievement for the club, especially after the turmoil we had in pre-season after losing a few players.
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“And we need to be a successful team before hopefully growing something special off the pitch which can align to what we achieve on it. The club’s in a much better position than when I first joined.
“We’ve the best coach in the competition in Paul. It would be interesting to see what he can do with a bit of money behind him.
“We’ve put ourselves in a decent position to perform well – even last week at Wigan was exciting as I saw what the young players could do – now let’s go for it.
“We’re there now. We’ll give it our best shot and see where we end up.”
