Fax lost 28-12 at the Recreation Ground, their fifth straight National League One defeat on the Cumbrian coast, failing to score a try in the second half after holding Haven to a 12-12 interval stalemate.

Boss Matt Calland was fuming afterwards, and Ball admitted the manner of the loss had prompted some soul-searching in the build up to the clash with the Reds.

"I think Sunday was a wake up call for us," said Ball.

"It was a sombre journey back but I think everyone recognised that it is a short turnaround and that they need to respond quickly.

"We had a bit of a chat at training on Monday night and a lot of the senior players spoke up, which is what you would expect, and I am sure we will get a positive reaction.

"We have always come back in situations of adversity this year but the worrying thing on Sunday was that we didn't seem to have anything left in the tank to fight back with.

"We ran out of ideas, we did too much tackling and our energy levels were poor late in the game.

"But the answers to all those questions lie in our completion rate.

"If we had done the right thing with the ball, we could quite easily have won that game by 10 or 12 points."

Salford are currently four points clear of Fax with four games remaining, and anything other than a win for the home side tomorrow would leave the Mancunians in the box seat as far as top spot goes.

"Realistically, if we don't win tomorrow night then we can probably wave goodbye to first place," said Ball.

"Salford will know that too, and they'll be coming pumped up to win the game."

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