Mikey Lewis WILL return for Hull KR tomorrow night, having completed his four-match suspension.
Lewis picked up the ban after a headbutt and late hit in the club’s defeat to Warrington Wolves, who ironically are the club they face tomorrow.
In that time, the Robins have gone four wins from four, and have enjoyed victories over Hull FC, Bradford Bulls, Castleford Tigers and Catalans Dragons.
As a result, some thought that Lewis would need to earn his way back into the side, but boss Willie Peters has revealed that Lewis will go straight back into the 17.
“It’s one of those decisions you’ve got to make, Peters told the press today [Monday]. “Do you keep going with what you’ve had, and we’ve had success over the past four games, or do you bring Mikey back, which is what we’ll do.
“Mikey’s got a lot of learning out of the last sort of four weeks. He just knows he needs to stay calm and composed because when he does that, he’s the elite player, or one of the elite players in our competition.”
Over the last month, the Robins have utilised Ryan Hampshire in that ‘six’ role, and Peters has been left very impressed with how he deputised for Lewis.
He said: “Having Mikey in our team, we’re better for it, but I want to compliment what Ryan Hampshire has done as well because we brought him to the club to play a role. I thought there’d be some stage where he’d have to fill in the gap for four, five, six, seven games, whatever it may be, and he’s certainly done a job for us and helped with that composure. Him and Jack Broadbent at the back have been good for us.”
Mikey Lewis to return for Hull KR as boss reveals new chapter for star
Lewis has done ‘a lot of learning’ in his time off, and a lot of reflecting on where it went wrong to reach boiling point in that Warrington defeat. In his time away, Peters is confident that the England international will be a better player for having this time off.
He said: “When you sit back, and you can have a better look, when you’re in the week-to-week cycle of rugby league, you can get caught up, and sometimes it’s difficult to take a breath.
“He’s been able to take a breath for the wrong reasons, but he’s been able to take a breath, and that’s the most important thing here, that he can reflect and look at what he’s done over the course of the year and, more importantly, what he did over that sort of period.
“He knows he needs to play with calmness and composure and he’s done that a lot of times for us, and he’s also gone over the line at times as well, which is what we don’t want.
“He’ll learn from it. He needs to learn from it. He’s going into that 25-year-old bracket where, in your 20s, you do get a lot of learnings. He’s one of the England halves, he was in the England squad last year and the last couple of years, so it becomes a responsibility with that.”
Asked if this can now be a ‘line in the sand moment’ with Lewis, Peters replied:Â “The way that Mikey plays, is there going to be anything or any more [ill-discipline]? Possibly, because it’s how he plays.
“He knows he needs to keep a calmer head and be more composed. He’s starting to get to that age now where he’s settled off the field, which is positive. He‘s a senior player in our team.
“…We’re a better team with Mikey, that’s for sure. But I think he realises now that you want to make yourself irreplaceable no matter what you do. As a coach, as a player, in any job, I think it’s important to work that hard for your bosses and the board, whoever it is, to have that trust in you, that you are irreplaceable.
“I think it was important that the team went on to win those four games, I think, for Mikey. If we hadn’t, then people were going to be saying that we couldn’t win without Mikey. And then what does that do for Mikey? It doesn’t teach him anything.”
