Salford Red Devils’ Ryan Brierley believes they can again target the play-offs in 2025 despite the financial uncertainty engulfing the club on the eve of the new Betfred Super League season.
Salford were last month issued a reduced sustainability cap of £1.2m and ordered to sell players by the Rugby Football League, which came two months after fellow Super League sides agreed to give them an advance in 2025 central distribution money.
Amid ongoing talks and speculation regarding a takeover, full-back Brierley said the mood in the squad was “surprisingly good” ahead of the new campaign with pre-season training having served as a “welcome distraction from all the noise”.
Salford finished fourth in last year’s Super League table, qualifying for the play-offs where they lost at home in the elimination round to Leigh Leopards. The Red Devils open their 2025 campaign away at St Helens on Saturday February 15, live on Sky Sports+.
“I’d love to say play-offs again, that would be more of a solidified target for us,” Brierley told Sky Sports at the Super League season launch event when asked what he thought Salford’s realistic 2025 target was.
“I feel like we have the squad to do so and I think if we didn’t finish in the top six it would be a failure.
“We want to finish top six and get a chance to play in a big game.
“Me personally, I’m running out of time here. I know I’m coming to the end of my career, so I really want to play in a big game. I really want to get to Wembley or Old Trafford, it has been a massive dream of mine.
“I know the boys are no different and hopefully 2025 can be that year.”
Scotland international Brierley, 32, believes Salford have room to improve in the season’s crunch matches following their surprise home loss to Leigh in the eliminator last September and a crushing sixth-round 40-0 Challenge Cup defeat to Hull KR.
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Highlights of the Salford Red Devils against the Leigh Leopards in the Super League play-off elimination final
“I think we could really easily be lowered into the fact of mediocrity and not doing our best – and we’ve got every excuse under the sun here to not perform – but I don’t think [head coach] Paul Rowley has created that group or created that environment,” said Brierley, who joined the club in 2022.
“So what I will say is when we’ve come to a big game, especially last season, we didn’t perform well – Challenge Cup and Super League. Got to the play-offs last year but we didn’t perform well in a big game, which is disappointing. So our aim is get to a big game and perform a lot better.”
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Sam and Tom Burgess join Jenna Brooks at the Super League launch, as the Rugby League Verdict returns ahead of the new season
Brierley hopes ‘good news around the corner’ in takeover talks
Against the backdrop of major off-field turmoil all through pre-season, Brierley praised the calming influence head coach Paul Rowley had brought to the squad in order to “keep our anxiety levels low”.
Asked what the players had been told from up those higher up in the cub, Brierley said: “Not a lot, surprisingly.
“What Paul Rowley delivers is [the message] ‘strip back all of it and deal with the facts’ and the facts are there’s an interest in the club, which is positive. That can only be a positive thing. A lot more positive than a few months ago.
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The Bench’s Jenna and Jon look back at how the Salford Red Devils performed in the 2024 season
“But we don’t know how far, or how far away, this takeover might be. So the interest is real and hopefully we can get it over the line sooner rather than later because hopefully as players we have done a great job of performing under pressure really well and performing under these circumstances.
“But it’s not ideal, is it? Everyone wants a nice stable job and a stable environment to come to work in every day, and we’re no different.”
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Sky Sports speaks to Paul Rowley ahead of Salford Red Devils’ Super League playoff clash against Leigh Leopards
Brierley also expressed confidence in Salford’s ability to retain their playing staff.
Asked how confident he was that his team-mates present at Wednesday’s launch would still be at Salford come the end of the season in October, the full-back replied: “Really confident. The facts are no player has asked to leave.
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“And in regards player sales and player movement, that has always been controlled by the club.
“We’re all under contract so unless we were told any different or any player has been told any different, our job is just to turn up to training every day and do our jobs – which we’re doing remarkably well under the circumstances. Hopefully good news is around the corner.”
Sky Sports will again show every game of the Super League live this season – including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining four matches each week shown on Sky Sports+
