MATCH PREVIEW: SALFORD RED DEVILS (H) - CHALLENGE CUP THIRD ROUND

The Red Devils come down to Birmingham for Challenge Cup Third Round action

We’re three games down into our 2025 pre-season, and we have three wins to show from it. After an impressive 30-34 away victory at Batley in early January, we have followed this up with a convincing 46-0 over Siddal (in the Challenge Cup Second Round) and a 52-24 win over Whitehaven (in the First Preliminary Round of the 1895 Cup). Head Coach Mark Dunning will no doubt be very pleased with the progress made in both cup competitions, but tomorrow no doubt represents the toughest challenge the Hurricanes have faced to date.

The oldest knockout competition in rugby league returns to The Alexander Stadium on Sunday, and in exciting circumstances. After a shake-up to the 2025 entry format, all 12 Super League clubs entered the Third Round of the competition and were guaranteed to be drawn away to one of the teams who advanced from the Second Round. This meant 12 teams from either the Championship, League One or the various leagues within the community game would have the chance of taking on a club from rugby league’s top division, and some mouth-watering ties were drawn as anticipated (with Whitehaven v Warrington, Sheffield v Wigan and West Warriors v Leeds to name just a few).

The Canes were lucky enough to be one of the 12 teams drawn against Super League opposition in Salford Red Devils. The Red Devils are no strangers to success in the competition, having won in 1938 and being runner-ups on no fewer than seven occasions (most recently in 2020 after suffering a heart-breaking 17-16 defeat to Leeds Rhinos). Salford’s success in Super League has been mixed, with the club suffering relegation in 2002 and 2007 but immediately regaining Super League status in 2004 and 2009 respectively. After a number of seasons rooted towards the bottom of the table, the last eight seasons have seen a resurgence in quality with (or several play-off campaigns and that memorable Grand Final appearance to eventual champions St Helens in 2019. The club also enjoyed its highest attendance at the Salford Community Stadium last season, when just under 11,000 fans watched them take on Leigh Leopards in the Play-Off Eliminator.

This off-season, however, has largely been one of turbulence off the field as financial worries plagued the news headlines and, in return for an advance on their central funding, a sustainability cap of £1.2m was put on the club, meaning that Salford could not register a full-strength squad for tomorrow’s clash. Notwithstanding those restrictions, the squad Salford has assembled for this fixture shows the quality the club has within its ranks. It is also likely to be the first and only time this is an issue for the Red Devils, as yesterday the club made the exciting announcement that a long-rumoured takeover was complete (subject to RFL approval) and the club’s ownership had been transferred to a consortium led by Swiss investment banker Dario Berta.

Sunday represents a historic day for rugby league in the Midlands as this will the first time a Super League side will compete in Birmingham in a competitive fixture and it will be the first time the Hurricanes have hosted Super League opposition at The Alexander Stadium. With ticket sales already guaranteeing a record attendance at the stadium and our Players’ Lounge hospitality package sold out, this weekend promises to be a massive weekend for the greatest sport in the world - right here in the Midlands!

For most of our players, this will be the first time they have taken on a Salford side and we have no doubt they will be extremely excited by the prospect of testing themselves against Super League opposition. However, there are some notable exceptions: Callum McLelland scored a try whilst playing for Leeds Rhinos when they bested the Red Devils 38-16 in the summer of 2021, whereas young second-rower Aaron Willis (formerly of Langworthy Reds) made his professional and Super League debut against Salford for the Castelford Tigers in 2022. Separately, and whilst not named in Salford’s 18-man squad, Salford’s new hooker Sam Davis regularly featured on loan for Coventry Bears between 2017 and 2019 whilst a member of the London Broncos squad, so there’s at least one player who can profess to have a foot in both camps this weekend!

With gates opening at 12:45/1pm and queues expected due to high demand, we would ask as many fans as possible to head to our friends at The Tennis Court on the Walsall Road (just a 10 minute walk from the stadium) who have been kind enough to open their doors at 11am for any fans wanting a drink before entering the stadium.

Today is your last chance to save money on ticket prices for tomorrow’s fixture, with prices to rise by £2 (£1 for U16s) for those paying on the gate. Advanced ticket prices are:

£15 Adults
£12 Concessions (O65/17-21)
£7 Student
£1 U16

With a record crowd already guaranteed, we hope to see as many fans as possible cheering on the Canes as we host the biggest game in the club’s short history. COME ON YOU CANES!

Squads:
Midlands Hurricanes RLFC
1 - Todd Horner (Sponsored by Yorkshire Ceiling Services)
2 - Matty Chrimes (Sponsored by Lowry Recruitment)
3 - Ryan Johnson (Sponsored by Crypto Construction)
4 - Ross Oakes (Sponsored by Geoff and Maureen Hammond)
5 - Travis Corion (Available to sponsor)
6 - Jake Sweeting (Sponsored by In memory of Robert & Stephen Sweeting)
7 - Callum McLelland (C) (Available to sponsor)
8 - Jon-Luke Kirby (VC) (Sponsored by EJ Interiors Ltd)
9 - Danny Barcoe (Sponsored by St Catherine’s Carpets)
11 - Tom Wilkinson (Sponsored by JW Visual)
12 - Josh Jordan-Roberts (Sponsored by 39 Steps Consulting)
13 - Mikey Wood (Sponsored by MG Electrical Contractors Ltd)
14 - Aiden Roden (Sponsored by Enjoy Travel Group)
15 - Aaron Willis (Available to sponsor)
16 - Ellis Hobson (Sponsored by Gllee UK Ltd)
17 - Kieran Moran (Available to sponsor)
18 - Zeus Silk (Available to sponsor)
19 - Marcus Green (Available to sponsor)
20 - Elliott Morris (Sponsored by GLR Energy Ltd)
21 - Sullivan Medforth (Sponsored by Ideal Building Systems)
24 - Matty Hanley (Sponsored by JGE Wholesale)

Salford Red Devils
1 - Ryan Brierley
3 - Nene MacDonald
5 - Deon Cross
6 - Jayden Nikorima
8 - Brad Singleton
13 - Joe Shorrocks
14 - Chris Atkin
15 - Shane Wright
17 - Esan Marsters
18 - Jack Ormondroyd
19 - Justin Sangare
20 - Joe Bullock
22 - Matty Foster
23 - Chris Hankinson
25 - Ben Hellewell
27 - Kai Morgan
28 - Nathan Connell
30 - Tiaki Chan