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The start of a brighter future, or merely another false dawn? Only in the weeks to come will we know just what the latest developments off the field surrounding Salford Red Devils mean but on it these remain troubling and frustrating times.
The irony cannot have been lost on any Salford fan who was inside the Totally Wicked Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Four months ago, they began their season at the same venue amid huge controversy, after the Red Devils chose to field their academy side and lost 82-0 in protest against the salary-cap restrictions placed upon them by the Rugby Football League.
At the time there was debate about the merits of those restrictions but months later they remain in place – and with good reason. Since that day in February, Salford have been taken over but their financial troubles have continued, with debts mounting up, significant player sales and salaries being paid late.
It is to the immense credit of the players and staff that they have turned up every week and performed with all of this hanging over their heads. Unsurprisingly, with star players sold and the club borrowing players from other clubs, they have been by some distance the weakest team in Super League in 2025, with just one win.
Danny Richardson, the latest debutant here after arriving on loan from Hull KR, was the 54th player the head coach, Paul Rowley, has fielded in league and cup. Few would expect anything other than heavy defeat week after week, and that theme continued here as the Saints ran in 11 unanswered tries to win 58-0.
This week, though, there was a chink of light off the field. It was entirely possible that Salford could have ceased to exist by Sunday had a winding-up petition filed against the club by HMRC for debts approaching £700,000 gone through. Instead, it was adjourned until September.
Why? Salford have secured a bridging loan to the tune of £3m that will enable them to clear their debts to HMRC and the Rugby Football League, hopefully remove the salary-cap measures and open the door for what club sources insist is a multi-million-pound sum in a hedge fund that will be unlocked by the club’s new owners once debts are settled.
It is not an end to the problems, but respite if nothing else. It is a bizarre situation but given how there were fears Salford could have ceased to exist by Sunday, let alone this year, it is something to cling to. The pressure now falls on the ownership group, led by Sire Kailahi and Curtis Brown, to deliver after months of false promises.
The Guardian understands that if those funds are released, the club will be handed over to someone to run it day-to-day and keep it sustainable. That man could be the former Red Devils chief executive, Paul King, who returned from gardening leave to help steward the club through this crisis – and who used his own money to pay the wages last month.
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Salford’s problems, though, are also Super League’s. Having a team under special financial measures being heavily beaten every week is not a good look. This felt more like a training session for St Helens, but that is not the fault of the Red Devils’ players or staff, who have acquitted themselves commendably throughout this crisis.
There is every chance Salford, who were 12th last year in the IMG gradings which determine promotion and relegation, could be removed from the competition in the autumn if their score suffers as a result of the financial problems which have engulfed the club. There are Championship teams waiting to strike in 2026.
But the onus must fall on the game to ensure its ownership tests are more stringent, and that players receive adequate welfare and support when financial strife hits. Salford’s players, staff and supporters have been grossly failed this year.
The sport should be embarrassed – not only by the look it creates for Super League, but for the toll it has taken on human beings who deserve much better. It must be hoped Salford have reached their nadir and they can look ahead with some level of optimism with this financial crisis finally behind them.
