However, Salford were slammed by Leigh chairman Derek Beaumont, who accused them of “complete disrespect” for the competition in a strongly-worded social media post, and Warrington head coach Sam Burgess also said the episode had blighted an otherwise excellent first weekend of the new campaign.
Due to the timing of the takeover, the salary cap remained in place for Saturday, and Rowley said after the Saints defeat that he had been told he could not use any of the players who had featured against Midlands.
He added that his decision not to start with any of the remaining senior players at his disposal against St Helens was due to issues of familiarity: “I can’t put half a team out made of the reserves (and first-team) and introduce them all on the bus because I don’t think it’s the right thing to do,” said Rowley.
Due to salary cap restrictions the Red Devils were denied the use of a number of senior players but head coach Paul Rowley still chose to name three of those who had been available on the bench.
Saints’ 15-try romp was the biggest winning margin in Super League history and drew criticism from rivals including Warrington head coach Sam Burgess that it has compromised the integrity of the competition.
