Hull KR head coach Willie Peters is unlikely to settle on a set position for new recruit Karl Lawton for the time being.
Lawton is one of eight signings made by last season’s treble winners coming into the 2026 campaign, with the versatile forward joining from NRL outfit North Queensland Cowboys. The Australian is one of the senior heads in the recruitment class and he’s expected to feature regularly for the Robins.
Where he will play remains to be seen, though, given he can play in a range of positions across the park. Hooker appears to be his most likely position, with Lawton set to spell first choice number nine Jez Litten at times.
However, he can play in the back-row, at loose-forward, centre and even through the middle as a prop. Lawton certainly provides options for Peters, then, and the Rovers boss intends to lean into that utility side of his game.
Hull KR boss on Karl Lawton
“He can play a number,” Peters said when asked what position KR fans can expect to see Lawton in. “It’s hard to say at the moment, it’s hard to say.
“I can definitely see him at nine, we don’t want Jez playing 80 minutes every week because he can’t do that in the format of the competition and how it is.
“He’ll play nine, he’ll play in the back-row, he could play at 13, he’ll definitely play at prop. He’ll play all those positions at some stage.”
Lawton arrived at Craven Park just after Christmas and has spent the last month acclimatising and getting used to his new surroundings. He was also the senior face in the young team that took on Wakefield Trinity in a pre-season friendly last month.
Asked for his thoughts on how the 30-year-old has settled in, Peters added: ” He’s pretty much everything I thought we’d get.
“Firstly, he’s a great person. I didn’t know Karl too well before he came in but he’s a quality bloke, he competes hard and he can play a number of positions and that’s what he’s done at training so far.
“We wanted to bring a player in who would fit straight in and not disrupt anything and he’s certainly doing that. I’m looking forward to watching him play because I think he’s an underrated sort of player and he’ll add to us this year.
“He will [go under the radar] to some people that don’t value defence or the efforts off the ball, but hat’s what we look at and what we pride ourselves on here. We value it and once his teammates play with him, he’ll be a player that others want to play with.
“Talking to some international players like Tommy Dearden and Reuben Cotter and players like that had all positive things to say and Anthony Seibold who coached him before, players and coaches have all had positive stuff to say about him.”
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