With the ongoing financial issues at Salford Red Devils, club captain Ryan Brierley was a guest on The Bench podcast to open up on how the situation has impacted the players.
Brierley discussed what affect payment issues have had on players, the deterioration of the squad available, and gave his opinion on the sustainability cap in place.
Last month, Salford confirmed that players and staff had not been paid on time for the second month in a row and appeared to have run out of patience with their new owners, the Betfred Super League club releasing a statement saying: “As many will already know, our payroll wasn’t delivered this morning as scheduled, despite assurances.”
Salford have been operating under salary cap sanctions for much of the season due to their financial plight, restricting the number of players they can pick for their matchday squad, and seen major players such as former captain Kallum Watkins leave.
Sky Sports News has approached both Salford Red Devils and the RFL for comment.
How has the situation affected the players?
“Well, I mean, it’s been an ordeal. It’s been quite the ordeal.
“It’s not been great, no, far from it.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Salford captain Ryan Brierley opens up about the difficult situation at his club and how it has affected himself and his team-mates
“I think the pay situation hasn’t been great. But I think over the last three or four years, Paul [Rowley – head coach] put a squad together where we can compete and challenge for trophies, especially top six and big games.
“But when you see that ripped apart, your squad, Kallum Watkins, Marc Sneyd, Tim Lafai, people like that.
“And not just as players, but as people, as friends, that hurts. Even going back to Brodie Croft and Andy Ackers.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Red Devils chief executive Chris Irwin gives an insight into conversations the Salford owners have had with the players
“Seeing your best friends being ripped apart and seeing their mental health deteriorate right in front of your eyes, it is awful.
“And because you become close with their families and friends and kids, and all the girls and the wives talk, it’s just not a great situation.
“Seeing their mental health deteriorate, especially someone like Kallum Watkins, who should have a statue outside our stadium for what he’s done for us.
“And to see him leave and to have that conversation with him, one-to-one, knowing what he’s been through.
“He just spoke about the memories, what we’d had and why he had to leave. He’s not been in a good place, Kallum. And what I will say from my point of view, I’ve fully backed and supported his stance from day one.
“You couldn’t ask for a better leader of people. And I’m so glad he gets to go to a team who can challenge for trophies, because he deserves nothing less. I think what he’s done for this club in the past four or five years, and I think when anyone asks me who’s the best I’ve played with, it’d be him.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Jon Wilkin and Jodie Cunningham discuss the difficult situation Salford find themselves in
“And it’s something I can be really proud about. I can say I played with Kallum Watkins. And I probably can’t put into words, to do him any justice, what I don’t think I could find them words for.
“So, I just think the biggest compliment is I can say I played with Kallum, because what a man and what a person he is.
“I think going back to the Toronto stuff, it was just a guy who was pretty much saying ‘I’m skint, I’m not paying’.
“Whereas this is like, we’re going to rip your soul out first, and we still might not pay you, and God knows what will happen at the end of it.
“So, it’s just like a death by a thousand cuts, isn’t it? We don’t really know what’s at the end of it. We don’t actually know.”
Why do you want to stay at Salford?
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Sky Sports’ Jon Wilkin does not hold back with his criticism of Salford’s decision to field a team of reserve youngsters for their season opener against St Helens
“I think from my position is, I’ve always wanted to stay strong with this club because of the affiliation I have with this, because my family supports this club. I’ve had thoughts about it, certainly, I think. But more from a looking after your family sort of thing.
“Emotionally, no, because I’m such an attachment to this club. I said before, being the club captain now should have been the best day of my life, and it ended up being one of the worst, because you see Kallum Watkins leave.
“I think it probably is the toughest moment of my career.
“But I do hold on to that 1 per cent of the club being better for it and coming through. It’s tough.
“I suppose there’s been chances for a lot of people to leave, and for whatever reason, they’ve not done. And there’s also been blockages from the club where people couldn’t go either.
“So, I’m probably left in a position where I probably didn’t have a choice because the club blocked it anyway.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights of the Super League match between St Helens and Salford Red Devils
“In December and November, there was a lot of approaches for a lot of players. And at the time, Paul King was also in charge, and he refused a lot of transfer fees and inquiries for players. Me included.
“Ultimately, I’m contracted to this club for the next 18 months. So, I think what I’ve always had in mind is, and the discussions I had with the club was future and what my contract looks like beyond when I finished playing.
“I think when the enquiries came around me, I remember saying to Paul King, I said ‘listen, if it benefits the club, do it because I don’t want this club to fail, I don’t want the club to go down and me be a problem for it’.
“I couldn’t have forgiven myself for that. But he said to me that we didn’t need to sell you. And I was like, well, that’s fine with me.
“I’ll just keep doing my job until I get told otherwise.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights of the Super League match between Salford Red Devils and Leeds Rhinos
Has the club just spent too much money?
“I think as much as there’ll be a lot of blame thrown at other people and other things, I think ultimately we’re the problem. We’ve made the errors, the club’s made the errors. And whether that’d be the last four or five years, we’ve spent too much.
“We shouldn’t have done it. And I’d love to be able to come out and blame everyone else, but we can’t. I remember having a conversation with Rawls.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights from the Betfred Super League clash between Wigan and Salford
“I remember when Brodie Croft signed a seven-year contract here. And I think the conversation was, if we sign Brodie Croft, can we still play at maximum cap? Can we still afford our team? And the answer was yes. So that’s why they committed to the seven years.
“It’s a bit different in Rugby League because I think in football, when you sign players like that for seven years, like look at Erling Haaland now, 10 year deal. They know they’ve got an asset there, which they can sell.
“In Rugby League, it doesn’t normally happen, does it? There’s not a lot of transfer fees in Rugby League.
“We were quite lucky that Leeds paid for Brodie and Andy Ackers because what would have happened if they didn’t? We’d have still had Brodie Croft on a multi-thousand-pound contract for multi-years. So where would we have been then?
“We’ve been irresponsible and it’s far from ideal. But I think at the moment, the only people who are being punished is the players, which is what I don’t like. And the staff.”
What is your opinion on the sustainability cap?
“From what I know and from what I think, the sustainability cap is a problem on both ends.
“I don’t really understand it because I don’t really get it. Because from my understanding, for example, let’s say Kallum Watkins is on 100 grand a year and Nene McDonald’s on 100 grand a year. Kallum Watkins is now gone, left the club.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights of the Super League clash between Hull KR and Salford Red Devils
“So naturally you should be able to bring in Nene McDonald because he’s on the same wage, right? But Kallum Watkins has been playing for three months. So, three months of his wages have now been used on the cap and Kallum Watkins values now, let’s say 80 grand, but then he’s not playing.
“He’s still at 100, you can’t directly swap them in. So, every month what goes by, the cap gets squeezed even tighter.
“And so it strangles it even more. I don’t really understand that element to it because at the end of the day, it’s only the players who get punished because you’ve got players who shouldn’t be playing out there. Chris Hill has played the last two weeks with a torn calf, eight-week injury.
“I’d almost say that the cap, I understand the principle behind it in terms of getting rid of your players, but also selling your players, but it doesn’t really work because on the flip side, from a player point of view.
“Let’s say Nene, again, like I said before, Nene’s on a hundred grand a year and the RFL go to Chris Hill and go, listen, you need to get rid of Nene McDonald and sell him. So they go, all right, we’ll sell him to Wigan. Wigan might go to Nene and go, we’ll offer you a 50 grand a year.
“Nene’s going to go, well, no, I’m not taking a 50 grand pay cut for no reason. I’m still getting paid. Still the same player.
“But why would I take a pay cut for something I’ve not done wrong?
“I get it, I understand what it’s trying to do. I just don’t think it’s achieving it.”
Round 8 – RIVALS ROUND- every match live on Sky Sports
Thurs April 17: Wakefield vs Castleford – 8pm
Fri April 18: Hull FC vs Hull KR – 12.30pm – exclusively live on Sky Sports
Fri April 18: Wigan vs St Helens – 3pm – exclusively live on Sky Sports
Fri April 18: Leeds vs Huddersfield – 5.30pm
Sat April 19: Leigh vs Warrington – 1.30pm
Sat April 19: Catalans vs Salford – 6pm
Sky Sports will again show every game of Super League live this season – including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining four matches each week shown on Sky Sports+ via the red button.
