Richard Marshall left with a selection headache for his round one side.

A strong Salford side come away with the victory against a young Wigan Warriors team, leaving Richard Marshall with a big decision-who should play at full back.

The off season saw the Red Devils bring in ex Wigan Warriors and Catalan Dragons player Morgan Escare. The 29-year-old is prominently known for playing at full back, but he is going to have a challenge on his hands to make that position his own, with Dan Sarginson doing an excellent job there last season. A player who was a major factor in Salford getting to Wembley in 2020.

During the friendly against the Warriors, both players were given time in the number one position, with coach Richard Marshall admitting in his post-match press conference, it is going to be a tough decision for him and his coaching staff. “The both of them played really well and did really good jobs in that position. It does give me a big selection choice between the two”.

It is a big decision for the new head coach, but will the knowledge of Sarginson’s ability to play at centre, give Escare the advantage of playing at full back? “We looked at Dan at full back but also in the centre position. He is fantastic at full back and he is a fantastic centre. We are not quite sure yet, but what we do know is we have players who can play in multiple positions. They basically play for their teammates, wherever they are asked to play, as long as you have got that in the squad, then we won’t be far off. It is going to be an interesting decision between the two but what a great dilemma it is for us as coaches to have”.

On his Salford debut, the French International impressed in both attack and defense. Throughout the first half Tui Lolohea and Escare linked up well together in attack. They created the second try of the game for the home side, with the full back finding Lolohea, whose kick to the corner was touchdown by Ken Sio.

The Ex-Wigan man was first to the loose ball, after a kick through from Jack Wells late in the second half, to grab his first try for his new side. In the closing stages, he denied Zak Hardaker- a player who came in and took his position during his time at the warriors- a conciliation try, with an amazing try saving tackle.

The 2021 season is less than two weeks away with the reigning champions St Helens playing the Red Devils first round. Marshall stated “The intensity, attitude and mindset from the game is what we wanted, but we can’t get carried away. We play the reigning champions in two weeks’ time, it will be a different game. We will have to do everything we did today, and probably another ten percent at least, to get ourselves in the picture against St Helens”.

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