Salford Red Devils have booked their place in the Super League playoff semi-finals courtesy of a dominant 28-0 victory over Huddersfield Giants at the John Smith's Stadium this afternoon.
Tries from Joe Burgess, Kallum Watkins, Ryan Brierley and Andy Ackers - plus an unyielding defensive display - earned Paul Rowley's men a one-sided triumph to set up a meeting with St Helens for a place in the Grand Final next week.
Huddersfield, who finished third in the regular season and were also beaten in the Challenge Cup final, failed to break through Salford's defence - even with a man advantage in the first half - as they failed to register a point at home for the first time since 2020.
It saw the Giants' 2022 season disappointingly end with a whimper, although it was not a perfect afternoon for Salford either as key man Brodie Croft suffered an injury which is likely to see him miss the semi-finals.
Both sides paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II before kickoff, having been given the green light to go ahead with the fixture, and it was Salford who made the most of things proceeding as planned.
Two tries in the space of three minutes saw the visitors take control of the contest early on as Burgess and Watkins went over, while kicks from Marc Sneyd saw Salford take a 16-0 lead into the break.
Brierly then touched down from Sneyd's grubber kick 10 minutes into the second half, before Ackers capped off the victory in style with a stunning solo try with the final action of the match.
Salford's win completes the the semi-final lineup, with Wigan Warriors taking on Leeds Rhinos in the other contest next week.
Barney Corkhill
