The Ammies have taken just two points from their Evo-Stik League First Division North fixtures since Christmas and Giggs must go back to the drawing board if the club’s play-off ambitions are to be revived.

The acid test for the City Reds has finally arrived and a bumper crowd is expected for Saturday night’s opening game of the 2012 Stobart Super League campaign against Castleford.

So often a supporting act throughout his lengthy rugby career, the Aussie is now commanding top billing after being thrust into the spotlight at Barton as Salford Reds’ new head coach.

The 36-16 defeat to Warrington Under-20s highlighted a squad light on numbers and missing too many key players through injury.

Smith has been identified as a general by Veivers and will have a key role to play during what is an important season.

The Lions coach has admitted they still have plenty of things to work on before the opening game in the Northern Rail Cup in York on Sunday week.

Having now played three pre-season games, Veivers must decide his best starting 13 for the first Super League game at the club’s new Barton Stadium home.

But reigning champions Whalley Range retained their unbeaten record and stay seven points adrift of Hey with five games in hand as they beat Old Stretfordians 3-1.

And the Salford Advertiser is delighted to have teamed up with the race organisers to create a ‘ Race within a Race’ for entrants living in our newspaper catchment area, with a prize for our first local male and female finisher and a full set of our local runners results printed in the paper following the event.

Salford keeper Chris Howarth was called into early action as he blocked Ryan Salmon’s close-range effort.

The Salford Reds prop has slimmed down considerably, shedding two stones to the delight of coach Phil Veivers.

The performance was more important than the result, and after an indifferent first half, the Lions put some good combinations together to run out worthy winners.

Fifteen-year-old Buile Hill High School student Crystal Barker has boxed with the Bridgewater Boxing Club in Salford for a number of years under the guidance of Coach Lee Whitehead.

Coach Steve McCormack took 19 players to Barrow at the weekend where a strong second half show helped them to a 34-30 victory. And he will take stock of his resources this week ahead of Sunday’s friendly against Warrington Under-20s.

The new Salford skipper watched from the sidelines as the Reds crashed to a 36-12 defeat in their first friendly against Leigh.

Long has gone through just as many hair styles as the football superstar and probably has as many tattoos.

Moon copped a high shot in the opening half as Halifax, coached by ex-City Reds boss, Karl Harrison, raced into a 16-6 lead – but the former New Zealand Warrior played through the pain barrier in the second half as Phil Veivers’ side eventually won at a canter.

With a significant injury list affecting his squad that postponement provided a breathing space and several members of his side are now on the verge of a return to action.

The Lions coach will take a close look at how Martin Ainscough, Ian Watson and new signing Chaz I’Anson shape up against the Raiders in Cumbria on Sunday (2pm).

"I’ve got to earn my stripes again now," he told the Advertiser.

Saturday’s trip to play Harrogate Railway Athletic proved to be a frustrating one for the Ammies as they struggled to come to terms with a pudding of a pitch and a lively North Yorkshire breeze.

Charlie, who lived close to The Willows, started out as a promising footballer and had a trial with United.

The Lions were caught flat-footed at the start of the game and ran out of gas towards the end but for 50 minutes they matched their Super League opponents.

The former Leigh utility man lined up in the second row for the Lions against Widnes Vikings on Sunday while coach Steve McCormack has said he would prefer him to play in the centre.

Wild was named Salford skipper on the eve of the first game at their new stadium, last Saturday’s friendly against Leigh. But, having undergone hand surgery in the off-season, head coach Phil Veivers felt he was not quite ready to feature.

Members and players worked together to help make the fence safe over the weekend, but early estimates put the cost of repairs at an eye-watering £10,000 – enough to wipe out the Central Lancashire League club’s savings and more.

Williams shone as a mid-season signing for Salford City Reds, while Gibson was dogged by some niggling injuries.

Phil Veivers is now in charge as head coach and McRae speaks highly of his fellow Aussie, who took over the reins from Matt Parish who quit in November.

The son of Welshman Gus Risman, who played for Salford from 1929, he was born in the city on 23 November 1937 and subsequently lived in Cumbria after his father transferred to Workington Town in 1946.

Manager Rhodri Giggs must be cursing his luck after the Ammies were forced to substitute a keeper for the fourth time this season but despite playing midfielder Jamie Baguley in goal for eighty-five minutes his in-form side went on to dominate the match.

The Salford-based British, Commonwealth and intercontinental champion stunned boxing by holding Sturm to a draw in their world title clash last month. Few gave the 29-year-old a chance of upsetting the odds in his first fight at that level.

Swinton get their 2012 season underway with a friendly against the Super League new-boys at Leigh Sports Village (3pm). But Lions coach McCormack believes there is no such thing as a "friendly" in rugby league.

Steve McCormack believes he has blended a side that will be highly competitive in rugby league’s second tier after storming to the Championship 1 title last season.

Veivers and his charges have instantly felt at home in their brand new base for the 2012 Super League campaign.

But the 26-year-old Aussie admits there have been times over the last few months when he wondered if it was really going to happen.

The Ammies’ 3-0 win at local rivals Radcliffe Borough on Boxing Day means they have taken 22 points from the last 27 on offer, winning seven of their last nine league games since the start of November.

The Ammies have taken 22 of the last 27 league points available in a run that’s propelled them to within touching distance of the division’s play-off places.

The highly-rated Wild has successfully undergone surgery on a problematic wrist injury. He has resumed training and will definitely be fully fit for the start of the Super League season in February.

The Salford-based British, Commonwealth and intercontinental champion stunned his German rival by securing a draw at the start of the month. It was proof of his world class credentials and the 28-year-old now wants to finish the job off.

Barbara Keeley, MP for Worsley and Eccles South, said she hoped the UsGirls project, which aims to get 30,000 young women and girls in Britain more active, could overcome barriers in the city.

This win over Mossley takes the Ammies up to ninth place in the Evo-Stik League First Division North and manager Rhodri Giggs now has high hopes of snatching one of the division’s four play-off places.

Penny took the rugby league world by storm in his first season at Warrington back in 2007.

Barton provides Salford with a test but come the start of the new campaign, Veivers fully expects his players to perform to maximum capability.

Irlam Boxing Academy’s Luke Evans, aged 15 from Ellesmere Park and a pupil at Wentworth High School, went to war with his Scottish opponent winning his 56 kg fight 25 points to 20 forcing his opponent to take a standing count in the last round in the process.

The home side had enjoyed an upturn in form over recent weeks following the appointment of new manager Eric Gilchrist, and they started enthusiastically on a wet and cold Yorkshire afternoon.

But the Lions’ inspirational hooker believes coach Steve McCormack has gone a long way to bridging the gap with the capture of quality players like Tom Armstrong and David Mills.

Veivers was assistant to Shaun McRae and Matt Parish before taking over as head coach last month.

In horrendous conditions, the Eccles pack tore into Moor’s forwards, attempting to create a platform for the young backline to test themselves against the strong opposition.

Moon, who has joined the City Reds from the New Zealand Warriors, is planning to play in the trial games next month ahead of his eagerly-awaited first taste of Super League action.

The Salford-based middleweight produced the performance of a lifetime against the WBA king in Germany.

The win took Rhodri Giggs’ side into the top half of the Evo-Stik League First Division North and leaves them poised for a serious assault on the play-off places over the festive period.

So says Reds’ Aussie full-back Luke Patten who is fully expecting both Broughton and Williams to hit the ground running in 2012.