Hull KR shocked Wigan at the weekend in their opening Super League game to get the Willie Peters’ era started with a bang but they’ve paid the price for such a physical performance, with four players missing from their round two squad.
The Robins head to the AJ Bell Stadium to take on Salford Red Devils, Paul Rowley’s men also winning in week one in impressive fashion against new boys Leigh Leopards.
Key to the success of Rovers was their back-line with Lachlan Coote impressing at full-back, Ryan Hall doing his usual huge carries for huge metres and captain Shaun Kenny-Dowall scoring a hattrick to secure the win.
Kick-off time and TV Channe;
The game kicks off at 20:00 at the AJ Bell Stadium.
TV coverage starts from 19:30 on Sky Sports Arena.
Team News
Salford Red Devils have announced a strong squad for their first home game of the 2023 campaign and fans will be pleased to see that their recently re-signed winger Joe Burgess is back in contention.
Burgess followed suit that many other Red Devils’ key players have taken this off-season, extending his stay at the AJ Bell Stadium with a three-year deal.
The most notorious of those is current Man of Steel Brodie Croft who took a huge extension deal that ties him to the club until 2030, whilst Burgess’ centre partner Tim Lafai also extended for three years following an impressive World Cup with Samoa.
Salford managed to get over the line without Burgess in round one as they went and spoilt the party at the Leigh Sports Village with Rhys Williams deputising well for Burgess.
However Burgess will be a welcome return for Thursday evening when the Red Devils host a Hull KR side that defeated the Challenge Cup holders’ Wigan Warriors on Saturday.
Salford named their squad for the fixture with Burgess being the standout return in what looks to be a strong squad for Paul Rowley.
https://twitter.com/SalfordDevils/status/1628001815403847682?s=20
On Thursday night Willie Peters won’t have either Coote or Hall available for selection, both left out of the 21-man squad with injuries which will be a huge blow for the prospect of a second win on the bounce.
Rovers announced their squad via Twitter and the likes of Will Dagger or young Phoenix Laulu-Togaga’e could deputise at full-back.
Here's your first squad on the road against the @SalfordDevils 💪😤#UpTheRobins🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/Ciku4Ss5tE
— Hull KR (@hullkrofficial) February 21, 2023
Hall will also need to be replaced after not returning for the second-half but there’s also injury problems in the pack.
New signing Rhys Kennedy failed a HIA which means that per the new protocol he’s unable to return within 12 days and therefore he’s an obvious absence from Rovers’ pack.
The other man is Matty Storton although like Lachlan Coote it’s unclear what the issue is for Storton.
Rovers will be hoping that this early injury spree isn’t a sign of things to come following their torrid time last year which saw them end the season taking just 16 men to face city rivals Hull FC.