Hull KR lost a home game for the first time since Round Four as out-of-form Catalans Dragons defeated the Robins 15-14 in golden point.
It was the second game of the day to go to golden point with bottom side London Broncos taking Leeds Rhinos past the 80 minutes, only for Brodie Croft to slot a drop goal to break the Broncos’ hearts.
Only two weeks ago before the international break, Hull KR had seen a golden point win for themselves against Castleford Tigers but this time the Robins were on the wrong side of the result as Jez Litten couldn’t cement hero status again as he missed two chances to win it.
In truth, the game was lost in the first half for Hull KR as they got off to an incredibly slow start and were left trailing 14-0 at the break before getting back into it and dragging Steve McNamara’s side beyond 80 minutes.
Head coach Willie Peters has since spoken to BBC Humberside to highlight another issue that potentially explains why Hull KR suffered such a slow start. It was a defeat that prevented the club from going second in Super League, left in fourth level on points with St Helens and Warrington Wolves.
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Were Hull KR victims of a slow ruck?
Credit: Imago Images
That reason has been cited as ruck speed with the Australian suggesting that it was incredibly slow, something that former Leeds Rhinos boss Rohan Smith was often a critic of.
In recent weeks as the players and officials get into the swing of the season, the speed of the ruck has been mentioned less and less as it has invariably sped up, however, it returned to form yesterday and Peters has argued that it was one of the key reasons why his side failed to find their groove early on.
Reacting to the suggestion that Catalans were able to dominate a slow Hull KR in the first half, he told BBC Humberside: “Yeah, I mean I could go into the ruck tonight, but I’m not going to. We got beat on the scoreboard but, come on, the ruck was terrible tonight in terms of how slow it was.
“We were just talking about it there. It’s going back to being a slower ruck but I certainly don’t want to give it too much because we got beat tonight.”
Peters was quick to add that it was simply a factor in their play and not the sole reason for the loss given how off the boil his team were, something that they were accused of being away to Castleford in Round 14.
Peters said: “We’re not going to blame the ruck, but it’s something that we need to have a look at ourselves to be able to give ourselves an opportunity.
“We got some lessons tonight, we get lessons every week. Naturally, we’ll look at the first half, but there’s a lot to like from that second half, so that will take him to next week.”
Next up for the club is Hull FC, who play today against Salford, with the derby returning to the MKM Stadium where the 2024 Super League season was opened with a resounding 22-0 win for Hull KR.
