'They cooked us' - Salford boss Paul Rowley reacts to Catalans Dragons demolition

The Red Devils slipped to sixth position in the Super League play-off slots after being leapfrogged by the home side.

Two first-half tries from Arthur Romano and a strike by Cesar Rouge put the Dragons 18-0 ahead at the interval.

Salford tried a second-half revival in front of their 1,000 travelling fans but lost the game in the forwards as Catalans bullied their way to victory.

Rowley added: “We got pushed around and bullied a bit but Catalans can do that when they get on top. It was our job to stop them and we couldn’t do that.

“I didn’t enjoy the game at all, we didn’t do what we came here to do and that’s the worst part.

“I thought it was a poor game all around and neither team will be pleased with their performance.

“In terms of fundamentals and doing them right, neither team was great.

“Catalans offered us enough opportunities to do some damage but we didn’t have the conviction to go through with it.

“We missed our centres for sure but basically you’ve got to run hard and tackle hard and I thought Catalans did that but they were allowed to. They got ruck control and ruck speed too easily and vice versa, we didn’t.

“It happens sometimes, there is no lack of effort but we need to be more connected with that effort.

“You can’t do things on your own and in a tough spot, in heat like this, you will suffer.

“We knew what was coming but the choices we made would determine the outcome and while individually everybody tried, we certainly weren’t connected.

“Our supporters seem to enjoy following us away from home and this is certainly the first trip they look forward to.

“We really appreciate that backing and in a game which was 18-0 and could have gone really ugly, the players work hard for the fans.”