Brierley braced for 'night of emotion'

RYAN Brierley is braced for “a really emotional night” when phoenix club Salford kick off their Betfred Championship campaign against Oldham at the rebranded CorpAcq Stadium tonight.

- By MARK STANIFORTH

Brierley shelved his playing career to return to his former club as chief executive last month after a consortium led by another former player, Mason Caton-Brown, was accepted into the sport's second tier.

The move preserved 152 years of rugby league history in the city, drawing a line under a 2025 campaign in which the then Red Devils lurched from one crisis to another and were ultimately wound up by HMRC in December over unpaid taxes.

Brierley, who has been central to a frantic rebuild since Caton-Brown’s bid was rubber-stamped by the RFL, warned that on-field success this season is necessarily a long way down his list of priorities.