By DANNY LOCKWOOD
SUPER LEAGUE will miss Hull Kingston Rovers, as I wrote last week. The big city derby is great for the competition and the crowds that fill the Lightstream Stadium are a much-needed boon, especially when compared to the paltry attendances at Salford’s AJ Bell Stadium.
I doubt that Marwan Koukash will take any responsibility for the on-field mayhem that disgraced both the occasion and the sport on Saturday afternoon. His rabble-rousing sideline antics are always entirely about Marwan. He’s like a C-list celebrity starlet with his “me me, look at me” charades.
Sure, everyone had a laugh at his big million pound cheque, drawn on the bank of Red Hall and signed by ‘Big Nigel’. Hilarious Marwan. Ooh, you are a side-splitter.
But is this really behaviour that’s befitting a club chairman?
All he seems to do is bad mouth the sport of rugby league and mock everyone in it who doesn’t kiss his lordly backside or agree with his ill-informed worldview.
In the wake of his players’ heroics Koukash came out and said that he’s staying, committing to another season. What a relief that must be for the people dependent on his temperamental benevolence.
But while his money has been appreciated and will continue to be, I feel for anyone who has to tolerate his adolescent tantrums. Red Devils coach Ian Watson must have the patience of Mother Theresa.
As I wrote in my analysis of the MPG (see p21), I am delighted for Watson and his players who have survived despite their owner, not because of him. They might have been missed if Salford had faced the drop, he wouldn’t have been.
It will be of no consolation to all at Hull KR right now, but I can see them bouncing straight back. They’re not the basket case that Bradford became, Salford will continue to be vulnerable, while Wakefield and Leigh have lots to prove. Chin up lads, and hopefully we’ll see you soon.
