It sounds more like junior footy, loaning players to your opponents so they can field a side.
But that is exactly what’s happening right now for English Super League club Salford Red Devils, who are set to field up to nine—yes, nine—loan players in this weekend’s clash with Hull FC.
Languishing in last place with just two wins in 2025, the circa 1873 Manchester club is in disarray on and off the field as they struggle to scrape together a side in the face of a mass player exodus.
The current troubles stem from financial woes that, it seemed, had been solved in February when a consortium led by Swiss banker Dario Berta was approved to complete a takeover of the club, promising to clear debts and increase investment.
MORE: Why Super League is a mess—and why NRL fans should care
Alas, that promise has yet to eventuate with the club’s crisis only deepening in the months since.
Placed under sustainability cap restrictions by the RFL to ensure the club’s financial survival, player wages were limited to £1.2 million—roughly half the usual Super League cap.
With staff and players consistently paid late, disharmony grew and a huge swathe of the playing roster has subsequently left the club during the calamitous season, either being sold or released to sign elsewhere in unprecedented cost-cutting measures.
“To be honest it’s a little bit embarrassing”
Unsurprisingly, fielding weakened squads has led to some truly catastrophic results, none worse than the 82‑0 flogging by St Helens back in February, closely followed by a 72-10 pumping by Wakefield Trinity in May.
“Some people have got to be held accountable for what’s happening,” Hull Kingston Rovers’ Australian coach Willie Peters told the media after his side thrashed Salford 74-12 last weekend.
“To be honest it’s a little bit embarrassing for our game over here.”
Faced with an existential threat to the club’s future, a £3 million bridging loan was mercifully secured back in June allowing the club to defer a potential winding‑up petition and settle critical debts.
But in arguably the most extraordinary step for an elite sporting competition, the RFL has allowed loan signings to ensure Salford fixtures are fulfilled and avoid bringing the public embarrassment—and financial consequences—of forfeits to the Super League.
Remarkably, Salford made the Super League Playoffs in 2024 after finishing fourth.