Hull FC v Salford Red Devils: Tony Smith not fooled by injury talk ahead of MKM Stadium showdown

Paul Rowley is reportedly down to his last 18 fit players after losing Oliver Partington and Joe Burgess to long-term injuries.

However, with the Salford boss still able to call on 13 of his top 17 players, Smith is preparing for the best version of last season's Super League semi-finalists.

"They're 18 dangerous players," said Smith, who himself has seen Liam Sutcliffe and Ben McNamara join the likes of Carlos Tuimavave and Jake Trueman on the sidelines.

"They're a dangerous team. They can play – and they do play. They like to play off the back of an offload and spread the ball.

"They've got a couple of half-backs that like to attack on the edges. They've got some hardworking forwards and people who are capable and dangerous with the ball.

"They can kick you to death as well. Everyone here very much respects Sneydy (Marc Sneyd) and his kicking game in particular.

"We've got to be on our toes this week. It's a really dangerous game for us regardless of the team they put out there."

Smith is looking for a positive response from the Black and Whites after losing their perfect record against Catalans Dragons last time out.

Hull conceded 38 points in Perpignan and have shipped 29 on average in their opening three games.

"We're yet to feel as if we're at a stage where we're happy with our defence, that's for sure," said Smith.

"We're taking it on the chin at the moment but we realise we're not where we would like to be. We've got a whole lot of work to do on that.

"Hopefully we can take some big steps this week. We'll need to because they'll be a different sort of threat to us and challenge us in different ways to Catalans.

"The principles are still the same for us in terms of turning up for one another and making sure we're in the right systems.

"It's a good challenge for us."

The Red Devils enjoyed a winning start to the year at Leigh Leopards in round one but have since lost to Hull KR and Warrington Wolves.

Smith believes it is too early to make firm judgements on any team.

"Salford have been good in some of their games so far," he said. "For big periods of time they've looked really good but in others they've looked as vulnerable as us in some respects.

"You look at Leeds, they weren't that impressive in the first couple of weeks and then last week they were very impressive.

"It's hard to find too many trends so early in the season. We haven't got enough games behind us to say, 'This is the type of team they are and this is how they're going to be each week'."