Welcome back to the Salford Stadium for the final time in what has been another rollercoaster Gallagher Premiership season. Of course, we’d love another home game but our defeat last weekend against Leicester makes that very unlikely. 

But there’s still plenty to play for. Friday brings another final for us, and a game we need to win if we want to achieve what I know this group is capable of. 

It’s dangerous to think too much about how a game will go because things rarely pan out the way you expect in this league. But if you look at us and Bristol, I’d say that we were too pragmatic at the start of the season and I think probably Bristol were maybe too far the other way. As the season has gone on, I think we’ve got closer in the way we’re playing. 

Certainly last weekend I saw AJ (MacGinty) put more kicks in and find more backfield space. I think they’ll be a different team to the one we played in December, but I think we’re much more of a threat in attacking sense than we were then too. It’s hard to know what’s coming but what we can do is lean into the things that work for us; our physicality, our set-piece, our kicking game, and then layer onto that our attacking game. That’s the complete game that we’re looking to put together on Friday. 

What I am expecting is the most dangerous, and the most desperate version of a Bristol Bear and we have to be ready for that. They came up here last year and took away what was at the time, a long unbeaten home record and I’m sure they’re going to up their physicality again. They’ve got gamebreakers all over the field who can deliver lightning bolts and score mega tries from anywhere. We know what’s at stake. The season, for both teams, is up for grabs in this game.

It’s been a challenging week leading into this one. There’s always excitement coming into work on a Monday morning but there’s always a pain in my stomach when I know there are hard conversations to have off the back of a disappointing result like last Friday. I don’t want to take anything away from Leicester because they were brilliant in the second half, but we had a tough day on Monday – for all the right reasons – as we talked through some of the areas of the game that we didn’t get right.  

The players pulled their own meeting because they wanted to get their thoughts aligned before they got the coaches involved. They talked about the review that was coming and how accepting and open they had to be, which shows the growth mindset that they’re driving themselves. Then it’s all about labelling it, owning it and accounting for it before we can get better. There were some easy fixes but it was tough to watch it back because there were things in there that we’ve talked about before, not just this season, but in the previous three or four since I’ve been here. We know we didn’t get our discipline right and we painted the wrong pictures in the referee’s head. Were some of the decisions harsh? Maybe. But that’s not the point and it’s certainly not what we have focused on.  

It’s cliché but every so often you have to take a look in the mirror and accept that you’re not quite where you think you are. That was Friday’s lesson and we will be better for it this week. There’s nothing like going through an experience to help you deal with a similar situation the next time it comes along. And what happened against Leicester will happen again – we will face those challenges and I hope it’s fresh in their minds whether it’s this Friday or in the coming weeks. 

So like I said, it’s been an up and down week, but we want this pressure and intensity at this stage of the season because it means you’re in with a shout of winning something. And we are. 

Since last Thursday, everyone in the rugby world has been talking about the Lions and I was delighted that two of our lads received the call while we were on the bus on the way to Leicester. I’m so happy for Luke and for Tom but clearly we had disappointment too. I spoke to Fordy the day before and he was very clear – it was about the team and we had a game to win and whichever way the Lions announcement went, we had to re-frame ourselves and get our heads on the game ahead. The best way for us to do that was to be together. 

It’s going to be an emotional night tonight as we say goodbye to some brilliant players, but more importantly, some fantastic people and some dear friends. We’re all gutted that Jean-Luc and Jonny are leaving us at the end of the season and I’ve got no doubt you’ll send them off with a proper northern goodbye. I’ll mention four more guys too, who have given so much to the club and who we’re going to miss. Josh Beaumont, Ross Harrison, Will Addison and Tommy Taylor began their career at Sale together and it’s fitting that they’re finishing their time here together too. They’ve had very different journeys but they’ve all given so much to the club on and off the field.  

They’ve been a joy to work with and I know you’ll stick around after the game and give, not just them, but all our departing players the send-off they deserve.  

My final words this season are to you, our Sharks Family, who turn up for us week-in, week-out, home and away. We couldn’t do this without you and from the players, coaches, club staff and owners, thank you for supporting the lads through thick and thin this season. I hope we’ve made you proud and I hope there’s plenty more to come yet. 

Enjoy the game, 

Al