Kristian Woolf says former assistant Richard Marshall will do “great job” at Salford

St Helens boss Kristian Woolf says his former assistant Richard Marshall will be a great job as the new head coach of Salford.

Marshall left his role of assistant coach with Saints after their epic 8-4 win over Wigan to succeed Ian Watson at Salford and will go up against his old club straight off in the opening game of the Betfred Super League season at Headingley on Friday night.

Woolf, whose side are aiming for a hat-trick of Grand Final successes, said: “It’s an interesting one. He knows a lot about us, we obviously know a little bit about him.

“At the same time I know he’s going to try a few new things and different things.

“I think he’ll do a great job with Salford, I think he will really improve them. It’s going to be a great challenge and at the same time it’s going to be a bit of fun going up against him in round one.”

Salford finished third from bottom last year but half-back Kevin Brown, at 36 the oldest man in Super League, is confident Marshall can once more make the 2019 Grand Final runners-up competitive.

“Richard is good and so is (assistant coach) Danny Orr,” Brown said. “We’ve got a new conditioner too so we’re being challenged from completely different areas.

“It’s been refreshing. Everything is completely different this year. There’s lots of different ideas and lots of new players to get used to too.

“Playing St Helens first is exciting. There’s probably no better time to play them than when we’ve just got one of their coaches.

“I’m sure Rich will know them as good as anyone. Saints have been the best team for three years now so it’s an exciting chance to see where we’re at.”

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