Former Wigan Warriors star Sam Tomkins has revealed what he thinks Hull KR ‘need’ if they’re to have a chance of winning the Super League Grand Final.
Tomkins, who has turned his hand to punditry in retirement, won four Super League Grand Finals during his time with Wigan and three of those came alongside Hull KR hooker Micky McIlorum, though McIlorum didn’t actually play in 2016.
The pair would then move to Catalans and came close to helping the French side lift a maiden Grand Final, only to come unstuck against St Helens and then Wigan Warriors.
Tomkins has now argued that Hull KR ‘need’ McIlorum to play next Saturday if they’re to beat Wigan Warriors with the veteran hooker’s big game experience and winning mentality hailed.
Speaking after the Robins’ win over St Helens to book their place at Old Trafford, Sky Sports’ host Brian Carney posited that both McIlorum and Jared Warea-Hargreaves are players who Hull KR try utilise in their 17 to “lift everyone else around them”.
Jon Wilkin agreed before pointing to their off-field impact, stating: “There’s a calmness to them though. It’s not always about on the pitch delivery.
“In the eye of the storm and in middle of chaos, you look around you for calm voices, especially in the week of a big game and I think JWH will be a real comfort for a lot of players going into a big game next week.”
How important are Micky McIlorum and JWH to Hull KR?
With McIlorum retiring at the end of the season, the Grand Final would be the 37-year-old’s last game if he is fit to play it, something that Sam Tomkins has little doubt about.
“Micky will play next week and he’ll start, I’m pretty sure he will,” declared McIlorum’s former teammate as he went on to assess how important both he and Waerea-Hargreaves would be to Rovers’ hopes of completing the treble.
Tomkins argued: “I think the thing about those two is they’re winners. This Hull KR side have had some success really recently but these fellas have been doing it for 10 or 15 years, they’re so experienced in big games.
“I think if Hull KR are to beat Wigan next week then they need Micky McIlorum on the field.”
Jon Wilkin had claimed that it would be ‘huge’ if McIlorum starts, however, he made the argument that the Robins need both retiring veterans less so now than at the start of the season.
He explained: “The difference is that Hull KR are a bit further down the track than they were. I think JWH and Micky McIlorum at the start of the year were way more vital than they are now.
“They’re almost like training wheels to get them to this stage and I feel like Hull KR’s confidence is in a position where it’s almost not needed to some extent.”
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