Hull KR 70 Wakefield Trinity 14: Wakefield suffer in try blitz as Rovers find form

After a dire home loss to Warrington a fortnight ago, irate chairman Neil Hudgell stormed into the dressing room to demand his under-performing players win their next four fixtures and salvage a play-off place.

Having kept Harlequins pointless, they followed up yesterday with an utterly convincing 14-try triumph over Wakefield Trinity Wildcats – their crisis is another matter altogether – delivering consecutive Super League wins for the first time this season to stay on course for that target.

Indeed, after England hopeful Kris Welham delivered another stunning hat-trick performance alongside the peerless Clint Newton and excellent Jake Webster, if the East Yorkshire club could ever get a period of sustained calm, they may yet make a decent side.

But, as it is, a despairing Hudgell used his programme notes to concede it had been the “most challenging time” since he took over the role given the most recent controversy shrouding them.

Following the absurd Willie Mason saga and then the rife speculation about head coach Justin Morgan’s future following that dismal Warrington performance, Rovers had to suspend two of their first-team squad last week following an alleged car chase by police.

However, having shrugged off the loss of that pair – Ben Cockayne and Liam Watts – to over-power their struggling visitors, Peter Fox scoring a hat-trick on his 100th Rovers appearance and fellow wing Liam Colbon also notching a treble, the chairman will be far happier this morning at Craven Park with at least one of his pleas answered.

“In some respects, all of this latest episode has done has confirmed our thoughts about the direction we need to take as a club at the end of the season,” he had written, Morgan’s future still ominously unclear.

“Whether we accelerate that process into the back end of this season will pretty much depend on how we are going after the Saints cup quarter-final.....

“Put simply, some players need to show Justin they care enough about this club to warrant a contract.”

Plenty of those did that yesterday after, what initially resembled a Wimbledon tennis final given all the tooing and froing in an erratic opening quarter, the rampant hosts finally took control to build up a 34-10 interval lead.

Welham, now Super League’s leading try-scorer with 20, was central to that success, just as much as Wakefield’s self-imploding with numerous unforced errors.

The rangy centre leapt highest to collect the Michael Dobson kick that put them into a 19th minute lead they would never relinquish but was also a constant threat down Rovers’ left.

When the Australian second-row Newton rolled out of another tackle – he had already set up Colbon’s second-minute opener with a marvellous flick pass – he found Webster for an easy finish before Welham sped clear to send Dobson in.

Welham had given Josh Griffin nightmares with his angles and pace, meaning Trinity coach John Kear immediately switched his centre to the other side – where the luckless youngster was promptly undone by Webster for Colbon’s second.

Then, straight from the re-start, the irrepressible Welham broke free from deep once more to put Fox in from halfway seconds before the interval and Trinity were finished.

Kear had rung the changes to try and instil some spirit after their lacklustre loss against Hull a week earlier, Semi Tadulala making his ‘second’ debut and French trialist Samy Masselot making his bow, with Motu Tony also returned.

But, especially without injured captain Glenn Morrison, their early effort – they scored well-crafted tries through Kevin Henderson and Tommy Lee – disintegrated amid Rovers’ combined power and elan.

The endeavour was still there from some but proved in vain, typically illustrated when Matty Wildie raced 70m to try and deny Webster’s intercept, just beaten at the line, after Newton had earlier finished off another long-range score.

Fox, only earning a recall in Cockayne’s absence, showed good strength to complete his treble against the club he signed from but it was obvious Trinity’s luck was out when, with some rare pressure, Kieran Hyde cleverly grubbered over but spilled with no one near.

Newton showed the young stand-off how it is done by somehow keeping hold of Dobson’s similar effort to get his second before Welham eased in for his third. Luke George – one of Wildcats’ better performers – got a 73rd-minute try consolation but more slick handling from Webster saw Colbon become the third Rovers player to record a hat-trick.

The dejected visitors were fortunate Dobson was not more accurate with his kicking; the scrum-half converted just half of the 14 tries meaning the damage could have been so much worse.

Hull KR: Briscoe; Fox, Welham, Webster, Colbon; Green, Dobson; Vella, Fisher, Netherton, Newton, Galea, Murrell. Substitutes: Wheeldon, Taylor, Hodgson, Lovegrove.

Wakefield: Blaymire; G Johnson, Griffin, George, Tadulala; Hyde, Lee; Korkidas, Rinaldi, Amor, Mariano, Henderson, Tony. Substitutes: Higgins, Wildie, Hickey, Masselot.

Referee: R Hicks (Oldham).

Fox celebrates milestone with triple to leave Morgan optimistic on future

HULL KR coach Justin Morgan believes his under-pressure squad showed their desire by recording a record-breaking 70-14 win over Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.

The Rovers chief has been under mounting pressure following a poor season so far but saw his side rack up the club’s biggest-ever Super League win and earn back-to-back victories for the first time this season.

“We were pretty sound against Harlequins last week and today we played with a lot of confidence,” he said, after a 14-try destruction of hapless Trinity.

“That was shown with the scoreboard and it was very pleasing with how we went on with the job after half-time.

“It just proves there’s a great determination among the players and I was very impressed,” he said.

Winger Peter Fox, who joined from Wakefield at the end of 2007, scored a hat-trick on his 100th appearance for the club as they moved up to tenth.

Morgan said: “That was great for Peter. He’s been training well but obviously has not been in the side for a number of weeks.

“He got his opportunity today and was excellent.

“We scored some good tries from some good plays; it’s always pleasing from a coaching point of view that we can come up with stuff we’ve been practicing and that’s what happened,” added Morgan.

Centre Kris Welham, 24, further proved his class with a hat-trick as he became the first player to reach 20 Super League tries this season.

“Every time he took the ball he seemed to make a break,” said Morgan.

“I had to look to see if there was any spiders on him at half-time; in that first half they didn’t want to touch him.”

Dismayed Trinity coach John Kear had no excuses for his side’s performance as they slumped to another heavy defeat.

“It’s tough for us as a group because we’re in bit of a hole at the minute,” he said.

“We had a young French kid come in (trialist Samy Masselot) and he was the only fit back-row left available to us.

“That’s where we’re at - staring down a barrel of a gun and we’ve got to come up with a better effort.

“You’ve got to feel some empathy though; they’re trying their best but as the season unfolds it’s quality at the top end that emerges and that’s how it is.”