Hull KR 8-42 St Helens: Highlights, player ratings and talking points

St Helens returned back to the city of Hull and in the same fashion as their win over Hull FC, made short work of their hosts, this time against the Robins, to make it four wins from four in the Betfred Super League.

Not a happy hunting ground for the reigning champions over the years but the record books were well and truly thrown out of the window tonight as St Helens ran in eight tries to two to completely overwhelm their hosts.

Match Highlights:

Two tries for Sione Mata’utia

The Saints got off to a flying start with Sione Mata’utia notching the opening try before adding a second after half-time. No stranger to scoring in this city, Mata’utia ran a perfect line from Jonny Lomax’s pass to power over. His second was similar, bursting onto another pass from Lomax to beat three KR defenders from ten metres.

Konrad Hurrell sin-bin

Yet another card shown in the Betfred Super League. The Champions soon became a little rattled and on 17 minutes, they were reduced to 12 men for ten minutes as Konrad Hurrell was sin-binned for a shoulder charge on Jordan Abdull. Hurrell drifted in from the wing and hit Abdull with a late challenge and was perhaps fortunate to be allowed to return to the field. Hull KR initially played the advantage and broke down the left wing before they were eventually halted on the St Helens 30 metre before being forced to retract 40 metres to play the penalty from where the challenge took place.

Tommy Makinson’s 150^th, 151^st & 152^nd Try

Arguably the best winger in England and for good reason, flyer Tommy Makinson grabbed his 150^th try as well as adding another two to complete a hat-trick in the huge win over Hull KR. A cut-out pass from Jack Welsby found Makinson, who scampered over in the left corner before a highly similar effort for his second try. For his third, he chased and grounded a Lomax grubber kick on the final hooter.

Key Talking Points:

Clinical Champions
St Helens demonstrated why they are the reigning champions and the team to beat. After recovering from a slow start, including Hurrell’s sin-bin, they rallied and ran out eventual easy winners away at Hull KR. Their ingenuity in attack, coupled with their lightning speed in defence, proved just too much for their hosts to contend with.

 

Reality check for Hull KR?
After getting off the mark last week, Hull KR were then dealt a serious blow as the reigning champions consigned them to two home defeats from three matches. Early days but losing in rather comprehensive fashion is never nice to take. An element of complacency from their win against Castleford? Maybe but they did play some exciting attacking rugby league in bouts and should still be play-off contenders come the end of the season.

Lewis Dodd’s international credentials

Named in the England squad earlier this week by Shaun Wane, Lewis Dodd demonstrated his international credentials with two tries for St Helens in their big win at Hull KR. Dodd was heavily involved throughout the contest, from scoring as well as assisting, he proved to be very troublesome for a very battered and bruised KR side. He certainly deserves his place in Wane’s squad. Dodd has a bright future ahead of him, especially if he can continue to replicate performances like tonight.

Player Ratings:

Hull KR
1. Lachlan Coote – 6
24. Sam Wood – 6
3. Brad Takairangi – 6
4. Shaun Kenny-Dowall – 7
5. Ryan Hall – 7
20. Mikey Lewis – 6
7. Jordan Abdull – 7
8. Albert Vete – 6
9. Matt Parcell – 7
10. George King – 6
11. Dean Hadley – 6
27. Frankie Halton – 7
13. Matty Storton – 6
Substitutes
14. Jez Litten – 7
16. Korbin Sims – 6
17. Elliot Minchella – 6
19. Will Dagger – 6

St Helens
1. Jack Welsby – 8
3. Will Hopoate – 7
23. Konrad Hurrell – 7
4. Mark Percival – 8
2. Tom Makinson – 9
6. Jonny Lomax – 8
7. Lewis Dodd – 9
8. Alex Walmsley – 8
9. James Roby – 8
10. Matty Lees – 7
11. Sione Mata’utia – 9
12. Joe Batchelor – 7
13. Morgan Knowles – 7
Substitutes
14. Joey Lussick – 7
15. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook – 7
17. Agnatius Paasi – 8
18. Kyle Amor – 7