Pre-season round up

Preparations for the new Betfred Super League campaign are well underway as six clubs took part in their first pre-season fixture of 2022.

Salford Red Devils took on local rivals Swinton Lions in their annual pre-season contest – the Red Devils comfortably beating their Championship One counterparts 48-12 on Saturday afternoon.

There were first tries in their new colours for off-season signings Brodie Croft, Ryan Brierley, Deon Cross and Shane Wright as Paul Rowley got off to the perfect start in charge at Salford.

A try and a Man of the Match performance on your debut... not bad @DeonCross31 😉

💪 #TogetherStronger | 🔴👹 pic.twitter.com/aM3tjKwOAl
— Salford Red Devils 👹 (@SalfordDevils) January 15, 2022

Elsewhere on Saturday, Ian Watson’s Huddersfield Giants saw off Championship side Dewsbury Rams 42-12. Giants’ fans got their first look at several new signings including Tui Lolohea, Danny Levi and Chris Hill as they ran out comfortable winners against the Rams – prop forward Jack Ashworth helping himself to a hat-tick of tries on the day.

Joe Greenwood gets our first try of 2??⃣0??⃣2??⃣2??⃣! pic.twitter.com/hh1QgRNtji
— Huddersfield Giants (@Giantsrl) January 15, 2022

On Sunday, Lee Radford took charge of Castleford Tigers for the first time against Championship side York City Knights.

Radford’s new Cas era began in perfect fashion with a hard-fought 32-10 away win on Sunday afternoon. New signings Jake Mamo and Alex Sutcliffe were both on the scoresheet for the Tigers, as was former Hull FC winger Bureta Faraimo who bagged a brace of tries.

😊 Kicking off the #NewCasEra with a ????

🙌 See you at @Doncaster_RLFC next weekend, Cas fans! #COYF pic.twitter.com/UsW9R7iv4S
— Castleford Tigers (@CTRLFC) January 16, 2022

A young Hull FC side fell short away at Bradford Bulls on Sunday afternoon – the Black & Whites beaten 42-18 at Odsal. Brett Hodgson fielded a side with just 4 players over the age of 21 – Ligi Sao, Cameron Scott, Jordan Johnstone and skipper for the day Brad Fash the only first team players to feature on the day.

???? Which of our youngsters caught the eye at Odsal this afternoon? 🤔

⚫??⚪?? #COYH pic.twitter.com/QtEfkVFJul
— Hull FC (@hullfcofficial) January 16, 2022

Leeds Rhinos continued their 2022 preparations with a tough 30-22 win away at Featherstone Rovers. Rhinos fans were able to get another glimpse of their new half-back pairing Blake Austin & Aidan Sezer during the first 40 minutes before Richard Agar made an influx of changes at the break.

Leeds Rhinos youngsters helped secure a hard earned win at Featherstone with 11 changes in the second half but Leeds cross two tries after the break through Sam Walters and Alex Mellor to win FULL TIME Featherstone 22 - 30 Rhinos pic.twitter.com/FSD0yjlMvM
— Leeds Rhinos (@leedsrhinos) January 16, 2022

Finally, Wakefield Trinity earned a first pre-season win following a 52-24 victory away at Halifax, as part of former Super League star Scott Grix’s testimonial. New signing Liam Hood opened the scoring for Trinity after they went behind early - and there were also tries for some of Trinity’s other new recruits - including Jai Whitbread, Tom Lineham and Corey Hall.

Running in the first ????????????🙌@Liamhood24💪 pic.twitter.com/gYojccLVtl
— Wakefield Trinity (@WTrinityRL) January 16, 2022

Pre-season fixtures continue ahead of the start of the new Super League campaign next month. You can find out when teams are playing during the coming weeks here.