Coach Tony Smith’s mind games help convince Ben Crooks to stick around at Hull KR

The former Hull FC and Castleford Tigers three-quarter has agreed a one-year extension with the Robins until at least the end of 2021.

He was Super League’s top try-scorer ahead of lockdown after scoring seven in his opening fivegames before suffering a serious neck injury. Crooks scored again on his return to action against Warrington Wolves in August only to miss five more weeks with a calf injury. But he made a successful comeback in the unusual position of full-back during Wednesday’s 32-22 loss at Huddersfield Giants.

He becomes the latest player to commit to the East Yorkshire club in recent weeks, following on from the likes of Australian hooker Matt Parcell and Will Dagger.

Crooks, 27, said: “I’m over the moon to have it sorted. I’ve been in talks with Tony throughout the year knowing I was out of contract. Circumstances haven’t really helped, whether it is injury or what’s going on in the world, but it was one of those things I had to keep working on, keep my head down and work hard.

“One thing I’ve always had in the back of my mind when I picked up that neck injury at the start of the year was ‘everything could be a lot worse’.

“I felt good despite what it was, and when we went into lockdown it came as a bit of a silver-lining for me and I managed to get back fit without missing too many games.”

Crooks joined from Leigh Centurions in July 2018, initially on loan, and instantly made his mark at the Robins.

Although they are enduring a difficult campaign, with just two wins from a dozen outings, he has faith in what former England coach Smith is trying to build.

“Tony has always been a very mindset orientated person,” he said.

“If you have the talent, then you just need to get your mind set right on that.

“He looks at the psychology of the game and we know we have the players and the potential to go out there, score points and trouble teams.

“A key focus for us is making sure that we maintain that belief amongst the team that we can do that on a week-to-week basis.”

Wakefield Trinity have reported no positive Covid tests after a five-day self-imposed lockdown.

On three different occasions they have seen positive test returned, including two players last week with six in total.

But, ahead of flying out to Perpignan on Sunday for their game against Catalans Dragons, head coach Chris Chester said: “The shutdown has obviously worked and it’s really positive news for us.

“We should be able to name the same 17 as we did last week which I think is a first for us since lockdown as well.

“The guys have had four or five days off at home and came in with a couple of good sessions, so we’ll be ready to go against Catalans.”

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James Mitchinson