Huddersfield Giants boss Ian Watson bites tongue following controversial Elliot Wallis red card

The players went head to head on the hour mark following a mistake by Wallis but there appeared to be minimal contact.

The officials thought otherwise with referee Tom Grant brandishing a red card to the surprise of even Salford head coach Paul Rowley who admitted "there wasn't a lot in it".

Watson expects the match review panel to take a different view to the officials when they meet on Monday.

"I'm going to leave that for the match review to have a look at," said Watson after the 18-16 defeat. "I don't think he'll be getting anything for it.

"I've just spoken to Elliot and we've just had a look at the incident. To say he's upset at it or doesn't think it's the right call is... it's there for everyone to see.

"Both their heads have come together but if that's being classed as a headbutt... interesting."

Huddersfield came to life following Wallis' dismissal, scoring three late tries through Adam Swift, Tui Lolohea and Jake Bibby to set up a nervy final 90 seconds.

The injury-hit Giants ultimately ran out of time as they suffered a third straight home defeat in 2024.

"I'm really pleased with the effort and their attitude to dig in and show the spirit they did at the back end of the game," added Watson.

"I can't question the effort and desire. We're a little bit hurt in terms of the amount of players we've got on the sideline.

"There are some players putting their hand up to play at the moment because we've basically got 18, 19 fit players."