Hull KR seal top-two finish with clinical win over Leeds Rhinos
Hull Kingston Rovers bagged five tries with five different scorers as they nailed down a top-two finish for the first time in Super League and booked a week off plus a home semi-final by beating Leeds Rhinos 26-16.
Despite the effects of the likes of Elliot Minchella and Niall Evalds being out, Rovers showed the strength in depth they possess. Character was required, with Hull KR-bound Rhyse Martin putting Leeds in front, and the scores locked at 10-10 at break - but the Robins finished the job in the second half including a Peta Hiku wonder assist and shut out their opponents for most of the second half.
Rovers' line-up had a different feel to it compared to recent times, notably with George King back in the 17 while Tom Opacic started in place of Oliver Gildart, who has a rib issue. And it was a tense start but Mikey Lewis started testing the Rhinos quickly with his kicking in open play, with Alfie Edgell dealing with that initially.
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Leeds though gave Rovers a scare in the 14th minute when Harry went on a mazy run close to the line but Rovers' defence stopped him in his tracks and the Robins could then breathe a sigh of relief when a penalty for offside was given against Cameron Smith.
And the Rhinos growing confidence was rewarded with a try as Martin slid over for a try followed by a muted celebration. Leeds had shifted the ball right to left and fleet-footed Croft had set up the Rovers-bound points machine. But the subsequent kick from Martin, uncharacteristically, struck an upright.
Rovers, though, rapidly responded in style as Matt Parcell dashed over against his former club, going over between the posts, after being teed up by Matty Storton - and the Australian enjoyed his celebration, in contrast to Martin. That set up a simple kick for Lewis and the Robins went 6-4 ahead. And KR caused problems again with an Opacic kick that could have caused problems but was mopped up by Edgell.
Edgell, having performed those defensive heroics, then produced a decent run and finish that put Leeds in front again, finishing a sweeping Rhinos move, right to left. And Martin was never going to miss the kick that followed.
But the Rhinos full back was finally caught out when a high kick from Lewis was not dealt with, allowing Peta Hiku to touch down. It was checked for offside by the video ref then given. Lewis missed the kick but Rovers had levelled at 10-10 as the half-time score.
Leeds' over-playing early in the second half cost them and gifted Rovers dangerous territory and that led to a Rovers try. Mikey Lewis caused headaches with his running near the line and then put Tom Opacic over. Although Lewis missed a kickable effort at adding the two, Rovers were 14-10 up.
Rovers thought they had struck again when Ryan Hall went over in the left-hand corner but it was rightly disallowed for obstruction when checked by the video ref. But Jesse Sue did grab a try after a video ref check as he powered over from Parcell's pass and it was awarded after a check on the grounding, then followed by Lewis adding the straightforward extras. At that stage, it was looking a tough ask for Leeds at 20-10 down.
Hiku then produced a stunning assist as he flicked out a magical pass for Joe Burgess to plant the ball down in the right-hand corner then, despite a tricky-looking kick, Lewis delivered with the boot to stretch the Rovers lead to 16 points.
Andy Ackers managed a late try as he barges over from short range but it was too little too late for Leeds.
Hull KR: 36 Jack Broadbent, 35 Joe Burgess, 1 Peta Hiku, 3 Tom Opacic, 5 Ryan Hall, 27 Tyrone May, 7 Mikey Lewis, 8 Jesse Sue, 14 Matt Parcell, 16 Jai Whitbread, 17 Matty Storton, 12 James Batchelor, 11 Dean Hadley. Subs: 9 Jez Litten, 10 George King, 15 Sam Luckley, 37 Jack Brown. 18th man: Leo Tennison.
Leeds Rhinos: 29 Alfie Edgell, 33 Riley Lumb, 3 Harry Newman, 4 Paul Momirovski, 24 Luis Roberts, 6 Brodie Croft, 7 Matt Frawley, 8 Mikolaj Oledzki, 9 Andy Ackers, 17 Justin Sangare, 16 James McDonnell, 12 Rhyse Martin, 13 Cameron Smith. Subs: 14 Jarrod O'Connor, 15 Sam Lisone, 11 James Bentley, 25 James Donaldson. 18th man: Tom Nicholson-Watton.
Scorers: Hull KR tries: Parcell, Hiku, Opacic, Sue, Burgess. Goals: Lewis 3/5.
Scorers: Leeds Rhinos tries: Martin, Edgell, Ackers. Goals: Martin 2/3.
Scoring sequence: 0-4, 6-4, 6-10, 10-10, HT, 14-10, 20-10, 26-10, 26-16.
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