Hull KR 36 Catalans Dragons 4: Robins prove they are real deal in statement victory

Catalans Dragons simply had no answer to KR's array of attacking threats on a sobering afternoon for the French side as their Old Trafford hopes took another hit.

The Robins won the forward battle – a problem area for Peters' men in previous meetings with Catalans – and ripped their rivals to shreds on the edges in an eight-try rout that sent a message to the rest of the top six.

On a weekend when Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves flexed their muscles to strengthen their bids for the League Leaders' Shield, Rovers trumped them both with arguably the best performance of the two-day event at Elland Road.

A strong travelling contingent helped turn the Magic Weekend clash into a home game for the Robins and there is no stopping them when they take their Craven Park form on the road.

But for wayward goalkicking from Mikey Lewis, KR would have been in sight of a half-century by the time referee Tom Grant put Catalans out of their misery.

Whereas Rovers have a clean bill of health, the Dragons are without a whole host of star names and it showed.

Catalans were in the game at 12-4 at half-time but it quickly got away from them as the Robins made hay in the sunshine.

Elliot Minchella, Ryan Hall and Kelepi Tanginoa all scored doubles and there were tries for Peta Hiku and Niall Evalds in a performance that proved KR are the real deal.

To emphasise the point, Rovers completed at 100 per cent in the first half, the kind of control that is required in a Grand Final.

The Robins have hurdles to clear before then – with trips to St Helens, Wigan and Leigh Leopards to come in the regular season – but they will take some stopping on this evidence.

Before Sunday, the Dragons were the only team Rovers had yet to beat in 2024 and something of a bogey side for Peters' men.

As KR know all too well, the key to beating Catalans is to win the arm wrestle and earn the right to play.

The Robins largely handled the Dragons' heavy artillery in the early exchanges but not without suffering the odd scare.

Reimis Smith was held up over the line after Lewis failed to claim a deflected Arthur Mourgue kick before Hall knocked Theo Fages' grubber dead under pressure.

After coming close themselves when Smith came up with an important tackle to deny Oliver Gildart, KR had an opening when Matt Ikuvalu was forced off and they took it to break the game open.

Joe Burgess skirted around Catalans' makeshift left edge and on the next play Minchella crashed over from Jai Whitbread's offload.

There was an audible gasp when Lewis crashed a straightforward conversion attempt against the upright but Rovers had the early lead they craved.

The Dragons were never likely to back down, though, and responded like a team determined to reach Old Trafford for the third time in four years.

After conceding back-to-back penalties to invite Catalans in, KR were powerless to prevent Mourgue from putting emergency centre Bayley Sironen over out wide.

Mourgue followed Lewis in striking the post from the tee and that was as close as the Dragons came to hitting the front as Rovers flexed their muscles.

The Robins sensed a weakness on Catalans' left edge and went back for more with success, Hiku showing guile and strength to touch down in the corner from Evalds' pass.

Smith moved over to the left in an attempt to solve the issue but they were duly caught on the opposite edge as half-time approached.

Fast hands from Rovers gave Hall an opportunity that he was never going to pass up, the veteran winger swatting aside Cesar Rouge to finish.

Lewis hit the post again from the touchline but it was KR's game to lose at the interval.

The Robins did not waste any time as they set about putting the match to bed in the second half.

After a Paul Seguier knock-on gave them perfect field position, Minchella ghosted through untouched in a clever piece of play with Julian Bousquet in an offside position.

Gildart was forced off with an apparent neck issue but nothing was going to knock Rovers off their stride.

Tanginoa coasted over from a delayed pass by Lewis on the last tackle before starting the move that ended with Hall scoring his second from a sublime Dean Hadley offload to further extend his Super League record.

With Catalans in damage limitation mode, the powerful Tanginoa romped through to complete his double at the end of another crisp move.

The Robins showed the other side of their game in the closing stages when Lewis and Jez Litten raced back to thwart dangerous breaks.

Tyrone May's reverse kick was gleefully pouched by Evalds late on to put the seal on a hugely impressive showing from Rovers.

Hull KR: Evalds, Burgess, Hiku, Gildart, Hall, May, Lewis, Sue, Parcell, Whitbread, Hadley, Batchelor, Minchella. Substitutes: Litten, Luckley, Storton, Tanginoa.

Tries: Minchella (17, 42), Hiku (26), Hall (37, 62), Tanginoa (50, 65), Evalds (76)

Goals: Lewis 2/8

Catalans Dragons: Rouge, Davies, Smith, Romano, Ikuvalu, Mourgue, Fages, Dezaria, Da Costa, Navarrete, Garcia, Sironen, Bousquet. Substitutes: Seguier, Satae, Maria, Wallace.

Tries: Sironen (22)

Goals: Mourgue 0/1

Referee: Tom Grant.