Carney can mastermind Salford success

Betfred Super League
3pm Sunday

On taking over the reins at Salford in 2013, Dr Marwan Koukash said that “no other club in the sport has the potential of Salford City Reds".

However, in the four seasons under Koukash’s ownership Salford’s players have never really threatened to turn that belief into a reality.

Two tenth-placed finishes are the best the Red Devils have been able to muster but that could be about to change in 2017.

Salford lie fifth in the table after a solid opening half of the season and are 25-1 for a first Grand Final triumph – having started the campaign as a 100-1 poke.

The Red Devils welcome rock-bottom Widnes to the AJ Bell Stadium on Sunday, a side they hammered 46-10 a month ago.

Orchestrator of that success was mecurial Australian Todd Carney, who returns after missing Salford’s 29-22 Challenge Cup win over Toronto last weekend.

At his best Australian international Carney is arguably the best player in the Betfred Super League and his influence cannot be underestimated.

He is a proven world-class operator at stand-off and his guile could prove too much to handle for a Vikings defence who have conceded an average of 28 points per game.

Wakefield are narrow two-point favourites as they host Catalans.

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