Caretaker Chester wielding the axe 
at Robins

The former Hull and Hull KR forward enjoyed a dream start to his job after taking over from Craig Sandercock by masterminding a stunning 40-10 win over leaders St Helens three weeks ago, but Rovers undid much of the good work by suffering heavy defeats at the hands of Leeds and Salford.

Chester, who is favourite to land the role of head coach on a permanent basis, has already made some bold decisions, telling several players this week that they will not be part of his plans if he stays in charge. They include former Bradford forward Jamie Langley, who is sidelined with a knee injury.

He has also axed Australian scrum-half Kris Keating for today’s trip to relegated London Broncos and clamped down on discipline in the camp by issuing a final warning to full-back Greg Eden, who has been dropped twice this season but is recalled for the game at The Hive.

Chester has also called up 19-year-old scrum-half Connor Robinson, who is set to make his Super League bow in place of Keating, and 18-year-old centre Macauley Hallett, who is also hoping to make his debut.

“I let certain players know I was very disappointed with their performance last week and we’ve made a few changes,” said Chester.

“Things had to change and there’ll be a couple of people that miss out this week and a couple of young players who could come in and bring us some energy.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a Mick Weyman or a Connor Robinson, they’ll get treated the same way. I told the lads from day one that, if they didn’t perform, they won’t play and I’ve stuck to my word.”

Chester, whose side are ninth in the table, is warning his players to guard against complaceny as they face a London team without a win in Super League XIX.

“They’re scoring some points at the moment,” he said. “I know they got beat by almost 50 against St Helens but they scored some points of their own and they’ve been doing it in previous weeks too. They’re a good attacking team and we’ve got to make sure we’re a lot better defensively.”