By STEVE MASCORD
MORE misfortune befell troubled Salford in Perpignan but coach Paul Rowley reckoned things may have been different if the first Challenge Cup quarter-final had been televised.
Fullback Ryan Brierley pulled out in the warm-up – the nature of his injury is unknown – utility back Tiaki Chan was concussed and ruled out of the game in the first half and winger Nathan Connell sustained a shoulder injury.
But the Red Devils – playing under special measures as a result of their messy ownership takeover – trailed just 8-6 at halftime before losing a mistake-riddled and occasionally ill-tempered Cup tie 20-12.
“It would have been interesting if it were on TV as well like the other three quarters,” Rowley said.
“We might have had a couple of decisions that might have been a bit different.”
Asked if he was referring to the Whitehead tackle, he said: “There were a couple of things.
“You’d have had a look at the first try (by Nick Cotric) … it was close, wasn’t it?
“The tackle on Chan, there were a few things in there.”
There was a flashpoint in the first half when Elliott Whitehead took Chan – whose dad is the Catalans general manager – high, leaving him visibly wobbly and ruling him out of the Red Devils’ next match.
Chan waited for Whitehead to be sin-binned and approached him on the sideline, at which point the former Canberra Raider attempted to apologise. Chan angrily brushed him aside.
“He was not in a good way,” said Rowley. “What I witnessed was a bloke coming off who was unsteady on his feet so … he seems OK now which is the main thing, a bit groggy still but in good spirits.
“I just think it was unfortunate, I don’t think there was any malice.”
Opposite number Steve McNamara thought the decision was harsh, saying: “I was not sure on the sin bin at all.
“I think the game was refereed differently than a Super League game. It was slow.
“It was a really slow game. Hands were on the ball all the way through.
“We obviously had a couple of high tackles which we were penalised for but there was nothing too concerning for me in terms of that.”
Whitehead returned to be penalised for another high shot and to score a crucial try.
In his 400th game, Catalans’ Sam Tomkins played on with a rib injury that McNamara said should have forced him from the field.
“We’d already lost an outside back and he just had to roll his sleeves up on his 400th game,” the coach explained. “He was very, very brave to stay out there tonight.”
Winger Cotric suffered a serious groin injury.
The Dragons boss called it “the most ill-disciplined performance of the year from ourselves”.
“We looked a completely different team to what we looked last week against St Helens,” he said.
CATALANS 20 (N Cotric A Romano E Whitehead T Fages tries Aspiro-Bichet 2 goals) beat SALFORD 12 (J Shorrocks M Foster tries C Hankinson 2 goals) at Stade Gilbert Brutus. Referee: A Moore.
