Top against bottom sounded like the perfect recipe for a
massacre as the Salford Red Devils hosted Hull KR with most pundits asking the
question -how many. Rather than ‘who’.

A win for the Robins would re-open the four point gap over
Wigan at the top of the table, a win for the Red Devils would put them within
two points of the struggling Huddersfield Giants as they look to get themselves
off the bottom of the table and buy some extra IMG points for what looks like
it is going to be a messy end of season reckoning.

The margin on the coupon was forty-eight points with many
thinking that the bookies odds setters might have underestimated the hurt that
Kull KR were about to cause Salford.

Seventy seconds from the first whistle and on their first
use of the football, Hull KR crossed in the right corner with Tom Davies taking
the pass forty out and sprinting down the touchline and diving over in the
corner. Arthur Mourgue hit the upright with the conversion attempt.

On three minutes Jack Broadbent was over for the second,
this one from sixty metres after Burgess made the initial break down the wing
before the inside pass for the centre to go in from thirty. Mourgue was off
target again with the conversion.

On nine minutes some half-hearted Salford defence allowed
Sauaso Sue to take the pass ten out and drag the tackler to the line to reach
down and score. At the third ask, Mourgue finally managed to find the target
with the boot for 14-0.

After being battered in the early stages the Red Devils
started to find their feet and kept the Robins at bay. Then on twenty-four Justin
Sangaré managed to push his way to the line from eight metres out and get the
ball on the ground under the sticks. Kai Morgan added the conversion, the home
side on the scoreboard.

On the back of the try Tyrone May was sin-binned for dissent
after the try was rewarded, the visitors down to twelve men.

Five minutes after the Salford score and delightful pinpoint
kick from Mikey Lewis was collected by Joe Burgess who dragged a tackler over
the line with him to score. Mourgue missed a third conversion of the night.

On thirty-three Rhyse Martin too a Lewis pass and walked
through a big gap in the Salford defence to score the fifth Hull KR try. Martin
took over with the conversion and hit the target without issue for 24-6.

Two minutes after Lewis brushed aside a poor attempt at a
tackle before passing to Jez Litten to complete the move and score under the
sticks. Martin hit the target again.

Just two further minutes had passed before another Hull KR
try from inside their own half, the move including a pinpoint kick from Lewis dribbled
forward by Burgess who then pounced on the bouncing ball to ground. Martin
failed to add the extras from wide leaving the Robins 34-6 up at the interval
having missed four conversions.

Burgess completes his hat-trick on forty-three and again he
had Lewis to thank after the half back put in a pinpoint chip to the corner
which Burgess gathered easily and dotted down. Martin managed to convert from
the touchline to bring up the forty.

Three minutes later and the partnership got another as
Burgess took the Lewis chip on the Salford line under a lacklustre tackle to
touch down. Martin was on target again.

Mikey Lewis got his own try on fifty-one, the tenth on the
night for Rovers, as he outpaced Declan Murphy over fifty metres to ground
under the sticks and give Martin a simple goal to push KR into a 52-6 lead, the
statisticians reaching for the record books.

Within three minutes it was Mourgue’s turn for a four
pointer, again supporting Lewis to jink past a defender and complete a seventy-metre
flowing move downfield. Martin kicked the extra two.

Davies got his second of the night just before the hour mark
with the ball being promoted through half a dozen pairs of hands in a left to
right move allowing the winger over in space. Mourgue was back on conversion
duty and hit the target for 64-6, KR through the point a minute barrier.

On seventy-one Salford got some consolation and reward for
their efforts when Charlie Glover took the ball at pace and crashed over the
line. Morgan added the conversion for 12-64.

With just over five minutes remaining Martin got his second
of the night with a twenty-five-metre effort, showing a clean pair of heels to
the Salford defenders, Martin was unsuccessful with the conversion.

The seventy-point mark was passed on seventy-eight, a record
Hull KR win in Super League, with Litten taking and inside pass for a walk-in
try. Martin added the extras for a final score of 74-12, as comprehensive a win
as the Hull KR faithful could have hoped for.

It could only be described as a massacre, a fourteen try
romp, could have been worse on the scoreboard for Salford if five conversions
hadn’t been missed. Salford had to battle through some late withdrawals from
their squad due to off the field issues but al that Hull KR could do was play
the side in front of them and they did that with ease, perhaps never getting
into top gear in a romp of a game.

Salford Red Devils: Murphy, Hill, Whitehead, Warren,
Connell, Brierley, Morgan (G 2/2), Ormondroyd, Mellor, Lewis, Chan, Foster, Wilson.
Subs: Yates, Pye, Glover (T), Sangaré (T). 18^th Man: .

Hull KR: Mourgue (T, G 2/5), Davies (2T), Hiku, Broadbent
(T), Burgess (4T), Lewis (T), May (SB on 25), Sue (T), McIlorum, Warea-Hargreaves,
Martin (2T, G 7/9), Batchelor, Minchella. Subs: Litten (2T), Luckley, Tanginoa,
Brown. 18^th Man: Booth. 

Half-Time: 6-34.

Full-Time: 12-74.  

Score Progression: 0-4, 0-8, 0-12, 0-14, 4-14, 6-14, (SB), 6-18,
6-22, 6-24, 6-28, 6-30, 6-34 : HT: 6-38, 6-40, 6-44, 6-46, 6-50, 6-52, 6-56.
6-58, 6-62, 6-64, 10-64, 12-64, 12-68, 12-72, 12-74  :FT.

Lead Exchanges: KR.

Referee: James Vella.