Hull KR have won their 12th game at Craven Park in a row, after seeing off Leigh Leopards in Super League.
Securing a 22-8 win, Rovers remain third in the table thanks to first-half tries from Joe Burgess, Peta Hiku and second-half scores from Jai Whitbread and Bill Leyland.
Leigh had plenty of possession, but couldn’t find the tryline on enough occasions as they crossed through Jacob Alick-Wiencke and Bailey Hodgson.
KR were without Jez Litten and Oliver Gildart this week, but dealt with those injuries well. Leigh lost Josh Charnley and Lachlan Lam from last week’s side, and they certainly felt the effect of both of those absences.
Hull KR v Leigh Leopards talking points
Six in a row:
A Rovers win now means that Willie Peters’ men have now won the last six home games against the Leopards, in a run dating back to 2023.
It was one of their most important ones as well, with the Robins needing this win to keep the pressure on the top two of Leeds and Warrington.
Robins now sit two points behind Wire, and with the pair still to play that postponed Round Two fixture, that game now becomes even more pivotal.
Leigh had a chance to push into the play-off places with a win, but they now must hope that one of Wigan or St Helens don’t win over the weekend in order to remain two points off the top fix.
Lachlan missed as Adam undercooks:
For only the second time in his Leigh career, Leopards half-back Lachlan Lam was absent from the side, and it forced boss Adrian Lam into playing Gareth O’Brien in the halves alongside Adam Cook.
Cook has recently found form, but that was largely to do with Lam playing well. The former Canberra man couldn’t quite hit the heights of the last fortnight, and it was a poor showing from both halves in a game where the pair needed to be at the top of their games.
O’Brien hasn’t played half-back since 2022, and whilst he is used to playing in the halves, he was unable to control the side as well as Lam can. Combine that with Cook’s poor kicking, it would turn to be an evening to forget for the travelling side.
Robins get away with poor discipline:
In the week, Peters called for his side to be more ruthless, and to not let up when they were on the front foot. He certainly didn’t get that this evening, with KR being well off the mark for the majority.
Conceding well over a dozen errors, they were fortunate that Leigh couldn’t capitalise on the opportunities presented to them, and you’d have to think that a team higher up in the table would have made the most of those chances.
Burgess blow:
The Robins were dealt a huge injury concern at the start to the second half when winger Joe Burgess was forced off with an arm issue.
That forced a big reshuffle, with Peta Hiku moving to the wing, Karl Lawton switching from hooker to centre and Bill Leyland coming in at nine.
The Robins already had Rhyse Martin in the centre due to Oliver Gildart’s absence, so it was a makeshift side for half of the game.
Milestone men:
Plenty of players celebrated some big career milestones in this game, including KR star Mikey Lewis, who made his 150th Hull KR appearance. Rhyse Martin made Super League appearance number 150, whilst Tom Davies played his 200th top flight game.
Martin had a relatively off night with the boot by his standards, kicking three from five, but came closer to 500 career goals. He now sits just six goals away from that milestone.
For Leigh, Robbie Mulhern made his 200th Super League appearance, whilst Tesi Niu racked up the century of career appearances.
