Salford Red Devils would defeat Saints three times in a single season for the first time in more than 85 years if they were to pull off their second upset of 2024 away against St Helens on Thursday night!
Paul Rowley’s team has already defeated the Red V in two close games in 2024 after facing off in the preseason.
They defeated Paul Wellens’ team 24–20 in Round 4 at the Totally Wicked Stadium after Saints mainstay Mark Percival was sent off in the second half.
And in Round 15, the Red Devils defeated the opposition 20–18 at home.
The two teams square off in front of the Sky Sports cameras for the third Super League match of the season on Thursday night, less than six weeks after their first meeting at the Salford Community Stadium.
When the Greater Manchester team travels to Merseyside in Round 21, they have the opportunity to shatter an 85-year club record!
The last time Salford defeated Saints three times in one season was in the Northern Rugby Football League during the 1938–1939 campaign. And astonishingly, in ’39, the three wins occurred in a span of just four weeks.
Salford, coached by rugby league icon Lance Todd, won both league matches with ease, first winning 37-0 at The Willows on January 14 and 32-5 on the road at Knowsley Road seven days later.
After winning both league games, the trilogy of victories over Saints was completed on February 4 at The Willows with an 11-0 victory in the Challenge Cup First Round.
Notably, flier Deon Cross has the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Gus Risman, even though Rowley’s Red Devils as a team could shatter that 85-year record on Thursday night.
Cross has scored twice at the Totally Wicked Stadium in March and again at the Salford Community Stadium in June in Salford’s first two victories over Saints this calendar year, much like Risman did in 1939.
In that 11-0 Challenge Cup triumph, when you were given three points instead of four for reaching the whitewash, Risman also scored one of Salford’s three tries.
In light of this, Cross will have emulated Risman if he scores on Thursday night and the Red Devils prevail.
It is noteworthy to mention that Salford, who participated in 50 games in all competitions, won the 1938–1939 campaign.
Following their two-point lead over second-place Castleford at the top of the tree, they defeated Huddersfield in the Championship play-offs semi-finals and defeated Cas 8–6 in the competition’s finale at Maine Road on May 13.
Todd’s team was defeated as Challenge Cup finalists seven days before they won the Championship final. Halifax defeated them 20-3 that day at Wembley.
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