“I do not see them coming forward and admitting they got it wrong” – Smith takes aim at those who wrote the Robins off

Hull Kingston Rovers Head Coach Tony Smith took aim at the pundits in his latest interview.

The Australian questioned their credibility as many, including Sky Sports duo Barrie McDermott and Phil Clarke, tipped the Huddersfield Giants, who currently sit ninth in the table, to be the “surprise package” in 2021 whereas for his Hull Kingston Rovers outfit, who are currently seventh, were expected to struggle against relegation.

The Robins face Huddersfield in their next outing on Bank Holiday Monday and a win could take them back into the play-off places and send the Giants further down the table.

Happy that his side are proving the critics wrong, Smith said, “It is back to the question about the start of the year. I do not know how the media can predict at the start of the year where teams are going to come.

“I know it is their job to do that but all the people who predicted Huddersfield to be at the top, I do not see them coming forward and admitting they got it wrong as it rarely happens.

“They just go off in the background. I can remember one of my first interviews this year when we spoke about relegation. Everyone wanted to ask me about the relegation fight and it has been great not having to deal with that for the last five months.”

A win for Hull KR will also see them complete a home and away double over the Giants following their thrilling 25-24 win at Hull College Craven Park earlier this season.

Smith is excited by the prospect of the upcoming fixture and is more than ready for the battle against the talented individuals in Huddersfield’s side.

He added, “From what I have seen, Will Pryce is a real talent. He is exciting and it is great to see a young British half-back coming through.

“I like clubs bringing through such players and I think he has a really strong future ahead of him but we will be trying to keep him quiet on Monday.

“It will also be interesting on the wing. Two very big powerful men in Ryan Hall and Jermaine McGillvary who have a big influence over their teams.

“We are sure Ryan is looking forward to it and so are we from our perspective. It is a good challenge as McGillvary is a handful as are many others but he is a big part of their go forward.”