REPORT | Salford RLFC 16 Dons 44

Eight tries at the CorpAcq Stadium saw the Dons take a commanding victory and a league double against Salford RLFC in the Betfred Championship.

Richard Horne's men asserted their authority from the off in Greater Manchester and deservedly led at half time thanks to a brace from Alex Sutcliffe and tries from Bureta Faraimo, Mitieli Vulikijapani and Tom Holmes.

Faraimo completed his hat-trick in the second half, and a further try from Watson Boas saw the Dons take a fully warranted two points away from home that ensured the visitors returned to winning ways.
Horne made four changes to the side that lost out on home soil against Barrow Raiders in the Betfred Championship 18 days earlier, with Faraimo, Suaia Matagi, Greg Burns and Luis Johnson all handed spots inside the starting XIII. Hull KR-loanee Tom Whitehead made his debut for the club as an interchange.
The Dons started much the stronger of the two sides and broke the deadlock to take a six-point lead after six minutes. The visitors went left after a penalty awarded on the right and found Sutcliffe, who weaved his way through to score. Robinson added the extras.
The away side were in control of the fixture throughout the afternoon and furthered their advantage on 13 minutes. Horne's men went left with a huge pass out to the wing on the last, and Faraimo took it on to go over the try line on his return to Dons action. 0-10.
Salford kicked long from the resulting kick off and instantly let the visitors in again. The Dons charged upfield, and despite the hosts' defence's best efforts to drag Vulikijapani into touch on the right, the winger superbly snuck in to squeeze the football in at the corner. Robinson converted via the left upright.
After 22 minutes, Sutcliffe made it a personal brace for himself after bundling his way over after meeting a kick to the left, and Robinson again added the extras to give the Dons as many points as minutes played.
Horne's men were firmly in the driving seat, but Salford provided a try in response on 29 minutes. After capitalising on a penalty, Toby Hughes scored just to the right of the posts. Kieran Dixon added the extras after a kicking routine that seemed to take an extended amount of time.
The Dons came back again just four minutes later as Faraimo broke away on the left and then passed back inside to link up with Holmes, who scored with ease. Robinson converted. 6-28.
The first half truly belonged to Horne's side, but the final points-scoring action of the opening 40 minutes went the way of Salford. Hughes broke away from a distance out and scored beneath the sticks to complete a brace of his own after 36 minutes. Dixon converted to leave a half time scoreline of 12-28.
The home side came out fighting at the start of the second half and made further inroads on the Dons' lead after 46 minutes. Oli Garmston latched on to the end of a bouncing kick into the goal area to score and bring the visiting advantage down to 12 points.
The next quarter of an hour saw both teams go close to troubling the scoreboard operator, but neither could get over the line with errors in both defence and attack at either end of the pitch.
But the Dons made sure to be the next team to score, though, on 68 minutes. The away side went all the way to the left again, and Faraimo rolled over the line and into the goal area for his second try of the day that also made it a brace for himself. 16-32.
Six minutes on, Horne's men put the outcome of the fixture out of any remaining reasonable doubt. Boas got the football on the right and just managed to evade the Salford cavalry to get over the line and score. Robinson added the extras again, this time from out near the wing.
The game's crowning moments came after 79 minutes. After contesting in the air, Faraimo chased after the ball, into the goal area and grounded to score in the left corner. Robinson converted his sixth try of the afternoon to make it 16-44.
Salford gave their best in search of a last-minute consolation try, but the ball escaped just long, and the Dons took a 28-point winning margin back on the coach to South Yorkshire.
Dons: Holmes, Faraimo, Boas, Glover, Vulikijapani, Robinson, Aston, Matagi, Burns, Mustapha, Sutcliffe, Johnson, J. Jones. Interchanges: Knowles, Misky, Hepi, Whitehead.