Chilled out response delivering results for Hull KR

They hope to secure a third successive win at bottom-placed Crusaders on Saturday, a far cry from the recent trauma which had blighted the East Yorkshire outfit.

Head coach Justin Morgan came under intense strain after a trio of heavy defeats against Wigan, Leeds and, most pertinently, Warrington left chairman Neil Hudgell demanding a response.

He ordered four successive victories as a minimum and, with the players believed to be under an alcohol ban for a month, they have started to turn things around.

A 34-0 victory at Harlequins was followed up by Sunday’s record-breaking 70-14 rout of Wakefield which left Craven Park a far happier place.

Centre Welham admitted some home truths were the reason behind the revival.

“It’s not been ‘Let’s do it for the coach’ or anything,” he said, “but Mick – as the captain – got everyone together and said ‘it’s us who are getting him in trouble and putting pressure on him because we’re not performing or playing well’.

“He got everyone together and said we needed to pick ourselves up and get into gear.

“We’ve started to do that and, hopefully, we can kick on.

“We need to catch those teams above us and that’s why these four games mentioned are massively important – they are all in or around us going for that top eight.

“We haven’t played well all year so far; it’s been stop-start and rubbish. But the game is about momentum and we want to start playing well towards the end of the season.”

They are three points adrift of city rivals Hull FC in eighth place but entertain Salford (ninth) after the trip to Wrexham and realise a play-off berth is eminently still achievable with seven rounds remaining.

Welham, who became the first player to reach 20 tries this term with a classy hat-trick against Wakefield, believes long-serving Morgan has handled the pressure well and helped divert the strain from his squad.

“When we’re not playing well it’s not the players who get it – it’s the coach,” he said.

“That’s been the case and he is under a bit of pressure. We set targets and we haven’t quite reached them this year.

“But it’s credit to Justin that he’s been able to keep us relaxed despite what’s going on.”

Given the ultimatum handed out by the angered chairman, it has proved ironic that the players have been urged to loosen up.

“Justin’s told us to take a step back, chill out and we’ll build up through the week,” added Welham.

“I’ve noticed a change in the mood; it’s been a lot more fun at training. When we were playing and not getting results, everyone was more tense and thinking ‘We’ve got to do it, got to do it’.

“But the last few weeks everyone has been more relaxed and chilled out and it’s shown in the performances.

“For a few weeks now we’ve been training very well and building towards getting a good performance together. We’ve targeted these four games and now we’ve won the first two.”

Given the prolific form of the rangy three-quarter, it is hard to see Rovers not completing the set which will leave them in confident mood for their Carnegie Challenge Cup quarter-final with St Helens at Craven Park on July 24.

Welham gave possibly his finest performance of the season against Wakefield when his pace and eye for a gap saw him terrorise Josh Griffin.

Such was the ordeal his bemused opponent endured as the sprightly 24-year-old turned him inside out, Trinity coach John Kear moved him to the opposite flank in an embarrassing first half.

For a centre to have such control over an opposite number is a measure of how far the improving Hull-born Welham has come.

“It was a buzz,” he admitted. “The amount of ball we had out there we seemed to make a line break every time and it was pretty easy to be fair.

“I don’t know if there was something wrong with Josh or he just couldn’t handle it. But then all of a sudden I looked up and (Luke) George was there instead. I wondered where he’d gone.

“But we carried on and made a few line breaks against him, too, so it must have been our left edge throwing good plays at them. We got the job done – that’s the main thing.”

Welham’s confidence is certainly growing for he had become so disillusioned at having not scored in the previous two fixtures that he dispensed with his boots and sought a new pair for the Trinity test.

The result saw him usurp rival Hull centre Kirk Yeaman as leading try-scorer and he now has realistic ambitions of taking that crown.

“It wasn’t one of my goals but now I’m up there towards the end of the season I’ll start to have a little look at it and maybe try and win it,” he said.

England ambitions are also high on the agenda.

“I was in the training squad for the Exiles game and a little disappointed not to be picked but it was my first time there learning things and getting a feel. Hopefully, in the near future, I’ll get my shot.”