Hull KR 20 St Helens 12: Robins underline progress to book Old Trafford return
As St Helens swept aside all before them on their way to an unprecedented four-peat, Hull KR were still in the process of re-establishing themselves in Super League.
The Robins made the play-offs once during Saints' period of dominance from 2019 to 2022 without convincing they belonged among the elite.
Now, in the closing stages of their third season under Willie Peters, Rovers have overtaken St Helens and stand on the brink of a historic treble.
Remarkably, KR – a soft touch for so long – are routinely beating Super League's most successful side at their own game.
The ferocious, relentless style that powered St Helens to four straight titles is being perfected by the ever-improving Robins.
Rovers were not flawless on Saturday evening but this was a routine semi-final victory a world away from their Craven Park struggles of the past.
The Robins dictated terms from the off and were deserving of a more emphatic scoreline, Saints demonstrating the spirit that drove them to a memorable win over Leeds Rhinos to limit the damage of a sixth straight defeat in the fixture.
A Grand Final rematch with Wigan Warriors was never in doubt despite a brief second-half scare.
Peters’ men will need to find another gear to deny Wigan a third consecutive title – and tidy up their goalkicking after an off night – but there will be no inferiority complex on the biggest stage.
Crucially, Rovers return to Old Trafford with the belief of a team that know how to win silverware having already claimed the Challenge Cup and League Leaders’ Shield.
Next week will also mark the final act in the careers of Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Michael McIlorum.
In McIlorum's continued absence, his team-mates set up the opportunity for him to bow out against his boyhood club.
While Oliver Gildart, another Wigan old boy, took the glory with a double to add to first-half tries from Mikey Lewis and Joe Burgess, the game was won early on.
Saints were nothing if not battle-hardened following their Headingley humdinger but they were beaten to the punch by the recharged Robins, not helped by the loss of two men in the opening exchanges.
Already shorn of Kyle Feldt and Mark Percival, the visitors were left without Jon Bennison – whose controversial try set up the late drama against Leeds – for 71 minutes due to a failed head injury assessment and saw Jack Welsby sin-binned to compound matters.
The yellow card could be attributed to the sheer weight of pressure applied by Rovers.
Perhaps scorned by talk of fatigue in the closing stages of the regular season, Peters' men flew out of the traps and had Saints where they wanted them even before the upheaval.
The Robins dominated field position from the start and St Helens eventually cracked, Welsby guilty of pulling back Jez Litten following a break by Elliot Minchella as the hosts kept the ball alive.
Arthur Mourgue vindicated the decision to go for goal from the penalty by nailing his touchline effort before Lewis took the game by the scruff of the neck in Welsby's absence to strengthen his case for back-to-back Man of Steels.
Faced with questions about his contributions on the biggest stages, Lewis issued the perfect response by creating and scoring the opening try.
The half-back put Burgess into space with a bullet pass and raced through in support to finish.
Mourgue's textbook touchline conversion left Saints in familiar territory but this eight-point deficit would be harder to chase down against Super League's meanest defence.
Their task veered into the realm of improbability when Burgess extended KR's lead.
After Litten created an opportunity out of nothing with a raking pass, Burgess escaped the attention of Morgan Knowles to finish Gildart's offload.
Rovers missed opportunities to add to their 12-0 lead but appeared a safe bet for a shot at Old Trafford redemption at half-time.
Then, out of nowhere, Saints gave themselves a lifeline to silence Craven Park.
An offload from stand-in centre Matt Whitley put Deon Cross into space and he bamboozled Mourgue with a dummy to race away and score.
When Lewis sent a kick out on the full after watching Jonny Lomax add the extras, there was a sense that the Robins were wobbling.
But like all good teams, they steadied themselves before moving out of sight.
KR had a bit of help from their rivals, back-to-back penalties coming at just the right time to relieve the pressure.
Rhyse Martin missed a penalty following another disciplinary lapse by Saints but Rovers set up camp and eventually came away with precious points.
Cross was unable to claim Lewis' high kick and Gildart was in the right place to take advantage.
If there was any doubt about the outcome, Gildart settled it when he cut back inside to complete his double with Saints scrambling on the last.
Burgess had a try ruled out from the restart and Harry Robertson scored almost immediately but a repeat of the Miracle of Headingley was never on the cards as Rovers kept their treble dream alive.
Hull KR: Mourgue, Davies, Hiku, Gildart, Burgess, Lewis, May, Sue, Litten, Waerea-Hargreaves, Hadley, Batchelor, Minchella. Substitutes: Luckley, Whitbread, Martin, Broadbent.
Tries: Lewis (17), Burgess (24), Gildart (63, 71).
Goals: Mourgue 2/3, Martin 0/3.
St Helens: Sailor, Bennison, Robertson, Whitley, Cross, Welsby, Lomax, Walmsley, Clark, Lees, Sironen, Wright, Knowles. Substitutes: Mbye, Bell, Delaney, Stephens.
Tries: Cross (44), Robertson (75).
Goals: Lomax 2/2.
Sin bin: Welsby (12).
Referee: Liam Moore.