Summary Locke's blow to the head had forced an early re-shuffle in the Red Devils back line.
LONDON (AFP) - Salford coach Iestyn Harris saluted his gritty team after they lost full-back Kevin Locke to a concussion inside the first 15 minutes but still ground out a victory over in-form Huddersfield.
Former Giant Josh Griffin scored a try and kicked three goals in the 18-12 win that lifted Harris s side up to fourth in the Super League table on Friday.
Locke s blow to the head had forced an early re-shuffle in the Red Devils back line, but Ben Jones-Bishop was a more than able deputy at full-back, laying on Griffin s opener before scoring the second himself.
And while the Giants, who had come into the game on a four-match winning run, mounted a late response with Aaron Murphy and Jack Hughes both crossing, it was too little too late.
Wigan Warriors are up next for the Red Devils on Monday and Harris is confident his side are just clicking into gear at the right time.
"If you re not prepared to defend like your life depends on it then you ll never win anything," he said.
"It was nice to see us do well at that, given that we conceded far too many points in the early part of the season.
"We weren t flash with the ball but we did the basics right. We re starting to build some momentum now but it ll be a mental challenge for us to back this up at Wigan on Monday."
Injury woes
While Salford are likely to be without Locke for Monday s clash, that is only a minor problem compared to the injury woes of St Helens, who slipped to a 12-4 loss to local rivals Wigan.
With Aussie half-backs Luke Walsh and Travis Burns out already, St Helens cause was not helped by losing skipper Jon Wilkin on the eve of the clash at the DW Stadium.
And with Hull FC next up on Monday, Saints head coach Keiron Cunningham admits his side will need to be patched up fast, especially considering Walsh will not be fit in time as he continues his rehabilitation from a broken leg and ankle injury.
"He (Walsh) is not far off," Cunningham said. "He s training with us and he s looking very good. There is a time frame he has to get to before the specialist clears him. It s imminent and I wish it was Monday but it s not.
"I thought it was a brilliant effort (against Wigan). We lose an in-form half-back in Travis Burns at Hull KR and then the day before the game we lose Jon Wilkin.
"We had no time to do anything as a team together, which is no excuse, a lot of other teams are in that situation but we were in the game for 70-odd minutes."
Elsewhere, Wakefield head coach James Webster says his side are right up against it after a thumping 40-4 loss to Catalans Dragons on Thursday kept them bottom of the standings.
"We are well and truly under the pump at the moment," said the former Parramatta Eel.
"Has a club ever not fielded a team? We re close to that situation. Monday s going to be a hard job for us, mentally and physically.
"But it s a challenge for me, the club and the players. We can look for all the excuses in the world, but we should probably be doing better than we re doing."
