Hull FC v Salford Red Devils - Bitten by a dog, Lee Radford in no mood to be bitten twice

HE has been bitten by a dog this week but Hull FC coach Lee Radford has no intentions of seeing his side suffer the same fate against Salford Red Devils this evening.
Lee Radford (Picture: Bruce Rollinson)Lee Radford (Picture: Bruce Rollinson)
Lee Radford (Picture: Bruce Rollinson)
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He was sporting a bandaged hand at yesterday’s press conference, revealing he had needed to visit hospital after trying to come to the aid of a pooch that had been knocked down near the club’s training ground.

And as Hull seek to chase down second spot in Super League, Radford is wary of the threat posed by in-form Salford who have won their last five games.

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“They’re a good footballing side,” he said, Tonga stand-off Tui Lolohea now fully immersed in Ian Watson’s side after the switch that saw Robert Lui head the other way to Leeds Rhinos.

“They’ve scored the second most points in the competition behind St Helens and they challenge you in terms of how much air they put on the ball.

“You have to be really tidy against them. There were doubts when Lui went but I think Lolohea looks like he’s playing with a smile on his face again offensively he looks really tight.

“He looks like he’s dropped a few kilos as well. That helps.

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“But it’s possibly a credit to Salford’s conditioning staff. I thought when Pauli Pauli went there (from Wakefield Trinity on loan) he looked in better shape.

“He does a great job Ian Watson. He has a really small squad but he manages to keep them fit and healthy and they play a good brand of footy.”

Radford will give a debut to Tevita ‘Chris’ Satae, the Tongan forward who recently arrived from the NRL and who will be joined at Hull by New Zealand Warriors team-mate Ligi Sao in 2020.

He said: “I’m excited by what I’ve seen on the field training-wise. He (Satae) is a big human being and he has a motor for a big bloke so hopefully he’ll hit the ground running Saturday.

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“I like Chris and Ligi. I’ve been admirers of them for a couple of seasons. Neither were off contract so I didn’t think there’d be much chance getting them over.

“Our CEO (James Clark) has done a really good job in terms of loosening the shackles over there and we managed to get them in.

“What we are lacking in a little bit of grit this time around they’ll both bring a bit of that.”

Former Toronto Wolfpack boss Paul Rowely, 44, has joined Salford as a coaching consultant.