Salford Red Devils 28 Leeds Rhinos 16: It’s just not good enough, says Dave Furner as Rhinos suffer misery at Salford

Rhinos trailed only 12-6 at half-time, but Salford took control after that and stormed 28-6 ahead before Furner’s men added two late consolation tries.

Furner admitted it was another case of Leeds letting themselves down following the break.

He said: “In the second half our game management and last plays weren’t good enough.

“We got away with it [against Hull KR} last week, but Salford are the form team in Super League and we allowed them to have that energy.

“There was a little bit of a fightback in the last 20 minutes of the second half, but it’s just not good enough.”

One positive was new signing Ava Seumanufagai’s debut off the bench just two days after he arrived from Australia.

“He’s strong, he’s powerful,” Furner said. “He only got off a plane, then a train ride, on Wednesday.

“He is going to add a lot of value to this team. I thought it was a good effort for him to play tonight.”

Veteran forward Jamie Jones-Buchanan returned to the side after a two-match layoff, but suffered a recurrence of a nerve problem in his back.

Australian half-backs Robert Lui and Jackson Hastings inspired Salford to victory.

Lui scored a try and had a hand in several others while Hastings also helped run the show as the Red Devils recorded only their fourth win over Leeds in the Super League era.

Lui’s effort rounded off a five-try display from the hosts, with Lee Mossop, Adam Walker (two) and Joey Lussick also touching down and Krisnan Inu adding four goals.

Mikolaj Oledzki’s first-half try was added to by late efforts from Harry Newman and Ashley Handley for a lacklustre Leeds side who suffered their 10th defeat of the campaign.

Salford started the game with the confidence of a team that had won three of their last four games and took an early lead when Lui’s kick was collected and grounded by Mossop under the posts.

The kicks of Lui and his fellow half-back Hastings were crucial in helping the home side stay on top but they had to wait until the 22nd minute for their second try.

Tyrone McCarthy had been held up inches short of the Leeds tryline before Walker forced his way over from close range.

An impressive break from winger Jake Bibby looked like creating a third try for the Red Devils but Leeds just managed to prevent George Griffin from getting over.

Leeds, having been disappointing in attack for much of the first half, gave themselves an unlikely foothold in the game moments before half-time.

A high Richie Myler bomb was spilled by Salford winger Derrell Olpherts and from the resultant scrum, Leeds crafted an opening for Oledzki to barge over by the posts. Liam Sutcliffe’s conversion made it 12-6.

Ian Watson’s men extended their lead just three minutes into the second half when Lussick squeezed over from dummy half, but Inu was unable to add the goal. Salford continued to dominate and they scored their fourth try of the night in the 55th minute when Lui and Niall Evalds combined to put Walker over for his second. Inu’s conversion gave Salford a 16-point lead. Lui showed tremendous footwork to avoid some desperate Leeds defence and score 16 minutes from the end and Inu landed his final goal of the game.

Leeds staged a late rally with tries from Newman and Handley - the latter converted by Sutcliffe - but Salford held out.

Salford: Evalds, Bibby, Inu, Welham, Olpherts, Lui, Hastings, Mossop, Lussick, Dudson, Jones, Griffin, Burke. Substitutes: Walker, Murray, Nakubuwai, McCarthy.

Leeds: T. Briscoe, Lolohea, Handley, Watkins, Newman, Sutcliffe, Myler, Peteru, Parcell, Singleton, Jones-Buchanan, Merrin, Smith. Substitutes: M. Oledzki, M. Oledzki, Dwyer, Seumanufagai, Cuthbertson.

Referee: Scott Mikalauskas (RFL)