Jon Wilkin is backing Hull KR to shade this weekend’s Hull derby and progress to the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup. The Robins make the short journey across the city of Hull to the MKM Stadium to take on John Cartwright’s resurgent Hull FC outfit on Saturday for the first cup derby since 1986.
It’s a tie that is guaranteed to be fraught with tension, nerves and derby hostility, but it also sees the country’s top two clubs, according to the Super League table, go head to head. Rovers currently sit at the summit of English rugby league having won all six of their league games, while Hull are second, three points behind them, with four wins and a draw on their record.
Both sides have been catching the eye this season then and they meet in a Cup tie that promises to thrill. Wilkin, though, is backing the side from the east to get the job done.
“I love Hull KR, not because of an allegiance to them because of my past, because I love what they’re about at the minute,” he told Sky Sports. “They’re an exciting team to watch.
“I think Hull KR might just be too strong for Hull FC, who are really coming up on the rails as a confident looking side.
“I’m just looking forward to a huge crowd, a beautiful day and an exceptional moment in the Challenge Cup. Whoever wins those little moments in the game will end up winning.”
One man who he will be looking forward to watching in the tie is Mikey Lewis, who scored a hat-trick on Sunday against Huddersfield Giants before becoming a father for the first time earlier this week. It’s been some week for the half-back, then and he would dearly love to cap it with a derby win.
“There’s only a handful of players that really excite me where I don’t know really what I’m going to watch when I turn up,” Wilkin added. “Bevan French is one of them, Mikey Lewis is another, they just make things happen.
“He’s got seven tries this year and is at the top of the try scoring charts but it’s not necessarily his try scoring that has impressed me, it’s his attitude, diligence, his thoughtfulness in his preparation for games.
“At times against Huddersfield he was just unplayable. He rode challenges and broke tackles that not many other players can do. The one thing that did impress me was he got sat down by George Flanagan really early in the game, a young Huddersfield half-back, he rounded him and scored a great try.
“I think Mikey of two, three or four years ago might well have dwelled on that or succumbed that that didn’t go so well for him. I see a growth and improvement in him.”
