‘Bullied’ Paul Rowley unimpressed with Salford Red Devils after Catalans Dragons lesson

Salford manager Paul Rowley admitted they “cooked us” after Catalans Dragons ran out 20-0 winners in sweltering conditions in the south of France. The Red Devils slipped to sixth in the Super League play-off slots after being overtaken by the home side.

Two first-half tries from Arthur Romano and a kick from Cesar Rouge put the Dragons 18-0 up at half-time. Salford attempted a second-half revival in front of 1,000 traveling fans but lost the game in the forwards as the Catalans bullied their way to victory.

Rowley added: “We were pushed and bullied a bit but the Catalans can do that when they get to the top. Our job was to stop them and we couldn’t do that. I didn’t enjoy the game at all, I didn’t do what we came here to do and that’s the worst part.

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“I thought it was a poor game all round and neither team will be happy with their performance. In terms of the fundamentals and getting them right, neither team was great. The Catalans gave us enough chances to do something bad, but we didn’t have the conviction to go all the way.

“They definitely missed our centers but basically you have to run hard and tackle hard and I thought the Catalans did that but they were allowed to. They got control and speed of the ruck too easily and vice versa, we didn’t. It happens sometimes, the effort is not lacking, but we need to be more connected with that effort.

“You can’t do things on your own and in a difficult place, in a heat like this, you will suffer. We knew what was coming, but the choices we made would determine the outcome, and although we each tried individually, we were definitely not connected.

“Our supporters seem to enjoy watching us away from home and this is certainly the first trip they are looking forward to. We really appreciate that support and in a game that was 18-0 and could have turned really ugly, the players are working hard for the fans.”