Rob Lui: I want to be one of the best halves in Super League
Salford star Rob Lui has set himself a goal to be one of the best half-backs in Super League this year.
The 28-year-old, who has been at the Red Devils since 2016, played a key role in their 2018 campaign as he scored nine tries in 28 appearances.
And he looks to kick on this season and help Salford win silverware as well as improving his own game.
Liu told loverugbyleague.com: “My aim is I want to win something and I want to be one of the best halves in the league. With the squad we’ve got I think I can achieve that.
“As a group we don’t want to be in that bottom four. We’re not always going to be the strongest club like the Warrington’s and the Wigan’s financially and everything else, but if we’re honest about everything then we’ll be honest on the field and hopefully we’ll see results.
“There’s a good feeling, everyone’s well-balanced. Last year there were some issues here and there but this year it’s like a clean slate where you can just start over again and you don’t get many chances like that.
“I think with us winning in the Super 8’s, it gives us confidence coming into this year and I think if we didn’t have that, this pre-season would have been different. We have confidence that we want to go top four or top five and we want to win something, I want to win something and I’ll try my best to win something for the club.”
With the rule changes in place this year, Lui discussed how the club’s pre-season has differed to previous seasons.
He added: “There’s been a few changes, [Ian Watson] Watto’s made everything quick, everything on time, less rest.
“We do one drill, we’ve got 30 seconds to have a little sip of water and then do the next drill but you can see it in games, it’s benefiting us. We want to play quick because we don’t have the biggest team, but what I like about our team is that we’re mobile, we can play a bit of offload footy and I think come round one you’ll see a different Salford team.
“I’m feeling good; I haven’t felt like this in a long time. With the rule changes it’s going to make our game quicker, so I’m going to have to lose more kilos. But I just play to enjoy it that’s the main thing.
“With it being quicker I’ll pick my times when to run, I’ll make sure they get tired first and then go at them. But I think it’s good for the game, fans will enjoy it more because there’ll be more breaks and probably more tries. It’s going to go back to the glory days when I used to watch them back in the day with Bradford and Leeds when everything was quick and fast. I think it’s going to go back to there and I’m looking forward to it.”
With the Red Devils managing to keep hold of Jackson Hastings after he signed a new one-year contract towards the end of last year, Lui is looking forward to playing alongside his fellow countryman.
Lui commented: “He [Hastings] got me with his little video when he said ‘I’m sorry’, I thought he was going to leave but then I realised he’d re-signed.
“He’s full of energy he’s like a Duracell bunny, in fitness he’s up there and one thing I know about that kid is that he’s got that drive in his head where if he says he’s going to beat you at something, he’ll beat you. You don’t see that in young players.
“I think if he wants, he can be the best player in the league because he’s got all the abilities. He can kick, he can run, he’s smart with the ball plus he’s a footy nerd, he knows everything about footy.
“He’s knows more players than I do, I know my footy but I’m old school I know all the Aussies, I know some of the England players like Ellery Hanley and all that and Gareth Ellis who I used to play with, but when you talk to him he knows everyone.”
