Where Are They Now? The iconic Salford Red Devils team from the 2019 Grand Final
From left to right: Krisnan Inu, Jackson Hastings and Lee Mossop in action for Salford Red Devils in 2019
Salford Red Devils travel to St Helens on Thursday night aiming to create a special piece of history 85 years in the making.
Paul Rowley’s side have already beaten Saints twice this season, and will hoping to make it a third time in a single league season for the first time since the 1938/99 campaign.
Salford and St Helens have met many times in Super League over the years but have only played each other in one major final in the modern era, which came in the Grand Final in 2019.
The Red Devils went down to a 23-6 to the Justin Holbrook’s Saints at Old Trafford – but what about the 17 players who took to the field on that famous night for Salford in their iconic black away kit? Here’s a look back at the Red Devils line-up: and what happened next in their careers.
Niall Evalds
Evalds progressed through the youth ranks at Salford. The one-time England international scored 111 tries in 160 appearances for the Red Devils between 2013 and 2020 before moving to Castleford in 2021. He made just 37 appearances for the Tigers over three seasons due to injury: but hit the ground running with his new club Hull KR in 2024.
Ken Sio
Sio was a favourite on the terraces at the Salford Community Stadium, scoring 78 tries in 104 appearances between 2019 and 2023. The 33-year-old, who was a squad member for Samoa in the delayed 2021 World Cup, departed the Red Devils on the eve of the 2024 campaign on compassionate grounds. He hasn’t played professional rugby league since his time with the Red Devils: and is now a personal trainer back in Australia.
Kris Welham
The former Hull KR stalwart arrived at Salford in 2017 from Bradford, spending four seasons with the Red Devils, scoring 31 tries in 102 games for the club. Welham dropped down to being part-time in 2021 with Featherstone Rovers in the Championship, and has been with Sheffield Eagles since 2022. He also works in pest control away from rugby league.
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Jake Bibby
Like Evalds, Bibby came through the youth set-up at Salford, going on to score 36 tries in 78 appearances between 2015 and 2019. The 28-year-old joined Wigan Warriors in 2020, helping his hometown club win the League Leaders’ Shield (2020) and Challenge Cup (2022). Bibby has been plying his trade with Huddersfield Giants since 2023.
Krisnan Inu
New Zealand and Samoa international Inu arrived at Salford from Widnes Vikings ahead of the 2019 campaign, and would go on to score almost 500 points in their colours across the next three seasons, including two in this Grand Final with a conversion. Rounding his career off with stints at French Elite Championship outfit Lezignan and then Leigh in the Championship, the Auckland native is now back at Salford as one of Paul Rowley’s assistant coaches, having recently signed a new five-year deal.
Tui Lolohea
Lolohea linked up with Salford midway through the 2019 campaign, making the move across from Leeds Rhinos. The experienced Tonga international spent two-and-a-half seasons with the Red Devils before following boss Ian Watson to Huddersfield come 2022, where he remains today. He is three games away from the milestone of 150 club appearances in the British game.
Jackson Hastings
Salford were Hastings’ first Super League club, with the Wollongong-born Great Britain international joining the Red Devils soon after his release from NRL outfit Manly Sea Eagles. The 28-year-old remains a cult hero at Salford to this day having left a lasting impact in the 41 appearances he made for the club prior to departing for Wigan after this Grand Final defeat having been crowned Man of Steel.
Hastings won the League Leaders’ Shield with Wigan in 2020, and is now back Down Under in the NRL with Newcastle Knights.
Lee Mossop
Mossop joined Salford from Wigan in 2017, and would co-captain the Red Devils until he was forced to retire on medical advice in August 2021. In that time, the prop accrued 82 appearances to take his career tally past the 260 mark when his seven England caps are included. Now 35, he is a professional sports agent.
Logan Tomkins
The younger brother of Joel and Sam, 2019 was 32-year-old Logan’s last of four contracted seasons with Salford having first joined the club on a permanent basis in 2016 after two previous loan stints. All in, he made 137 appearances for the Red Devils by the time he left, the highest tally of any of the four clubs he donned a shirt for. Rounding off his playing days at Widnes in 2020, Tomkins is now in the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service.
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Gil Dudson
The Wales international had two impressive seasons with Salford between 2019 and 2020: and has recently returned to the Red Devils for the rest of this season on loan from his parent club Warrington Wolves. Dudson has has racked up more than 300 career appearances for Wales, Crusaders, Wigan Warriors, Salford, Catalans Dragons and Warrington.
Josh Jones
The former Great Britain international made almost 300 appearances during his career for St Helens, Salford, Hull FC and Huddersfield as well as having a brief spell in rugby union with Exeter Chiefs. Jones, who was named in the 2019 Super League Dream Team whilst at Salford, hung up his boots last December and more recently announced the news that he has been diagnosed with stage 2 Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) at the age of just 31. Jones is working as a mortgage advisor post-retirement from rugby league.
George Griffin
George played alongside his brothers Darrell and Josh for the Red Devils between 2015 and 2016, with the 32-year-old spending five seasons in total at Salford before joining Castleford Tigers in 2020: a place where he remains to this day. In late 2023, he released a children’s book alongside his former Castleford team-mate Bureta Faraimo.
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Tyrone McCarthy
McCarthy represented the Red Devils for four seasons between 2017 and 2020, playing 73 games in total for the club. He spent the final season of his career with Leigh in 2021 before hanging up his boots.
The former Ireland star is currently working for South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL as the club’s head of elite pathways and player development programme.
Joey Lussick (sub)
Lussick came over to Super League in 2018 with Salford with just a solitary NRL appearance to his name with Manly Sea Eagles.
Lussick scored 18 tries in 59 appearances for Salford over three seasons before returning to Australia with Parramatta Eels for 2021. The 28-year-old then came back to Super League for 2022 with St Helens, before re-joining Parramatta in 2023. He is still with the Eels.
Mark Flanagan (sub)
Wigan academy product Flanagan served Salford with distinction between 2016 and 2020 after arriving from St Helens, co-captaining the Red Devils alongside Mossop. Flanagan has co-owned popular coffee shop Pot Kettle Black with his former Saints team-mate Jon Wilkin since 2015.
Adam Walker (sub)
Bradford-born Walker made almost 200 career appearances for Huddersfield, Hull KR, St Helens, Wakefield and Salford, with the Red Devils being the last club he donned a shirt for in 2019.
Walker represented Scotland on the international stage 14 times, qualifying to represent the Bravehearts through his family heritage, playing in the 2013 World Cup and 2016 Four Nations tournaments. Tragically, in October 2022, Walker passed away.
Greg Burke (sub)
The 31-year-old prop came through the ranks at his hometown club Wigan Warriors and spent three seasons at Widnes Vikings before signing for Salford permanently in 2019 following a loan spell, making 84 appearances for the Red Devils over the course of four seasons.
Burke made the switch to part-time rugby league ahead of the 2023 with Barrow Raiders in the Championship, and he is still plying his trade for the Cumbrian club to this day.
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