St Helens 26 Hull KR 18: Milestone moment for Roby but Robins impress

The Robins went toe to toe with defending champions St Helens and with a bit more luck would have headed home with the kind of statement victory they have been craving all year.

But Saints and record-breaking Roby were not to be denied, winning the key moments as they so often do to restore their four-point advantage at the top of Super League.

It was a memorable afternoon for Roby on his 455th Super League appearance, the 36-year-old hooker surpassing Leeds Rhinos legend Kevin Sinfield to cement his status as a great of the game.

Roby inevitably marked the occasion with a try as Saints recorded a 12th straight victory over the Robins – but that does not tell the tale of a highly competitive and thoroughly entertaining contest.

Rovers have looked more like themselves since the recent break and can head into the latest two-week hiatus in good heart after giving St Helens a real fright.

Tony Smith’s men have dropped out of the top six following the 26-18 defeat but they hinted at another play-off challenge on Sunday afternoon.

Lachlan Coote led the way against his former club on his 250th career appearance, scoring two tries in an influential performance. Coote was called into action inside the opening minute when Konrad Hurrell put Tommy Makinson into space down the right flank.

The Saints winger was stopped in his tracks by a well-executed tackle but he was not to be denied, touching down in the corner at the end of the set after Ryan Hall failed to deal with Jack Welsby’s kick.

Coote could not be kept out of the game, inviting former team-mate Welsby to shove him to the ground as he raced to his 20 for a quick restart.

Welsby was duly sent to the sin bin and Coote was the man to make the St Helens half-back pay for his brain fade, going over from dummy-half on the last tackle to pantomime boos.

The home supporters watched their former hero knock over the extras to nudge Hull KR ahead and the visitors continued to threaten, Regan Grace just beating Ethan Ryan to a kick in behind by Mikey Lewis.

But Saints were more than happy to take on Rovers at their own game, which resembled a basketball match for much of the first half.

St Helens retook the lead through man of the moment Roby, the hooker pirouetting his way over under the posts after Hall threatened an intercept in the previous set.

The pace was unrelenting as both defences tried in vain to slow the game down.

Saints had a third try when Alex Walmsley punched a hole through the middle and put Morgan Knowles over with a nice offload but the Robins would not go away.

Hall had responded well to his early error and he was celebrating his 11th Super League try of the season thanks to a clinical pass by Coote, a man seemingly determined to upstage Roby.

Coote nailed his touchline conversion with some help from the woodwork to make it 16-12 and it would have got even better for Rovers had Matt Parcell’s try not been chalked off for a ball steal.

The Robins threatened again when Hall made a break down the left but Smith’s men were up against it after losing Parcell to a yellow card on the stroke of half-time for persistent holding down.

Makinson knocked over the penalty to end a breathless first half and the entertainment continued after the restart.

Rovers made attempts to slow the game down in the absence of Parcell but they were powerless to stop Saints adding a fourth 
try.

Coote did well to haul down a rampaging Hurrell but aware that the full-back was no longer at home, Welsby chipped a kick in behind that sat up perfectly for Ben Davies to touch down.

Unperturbed, Hull KR continued to trade punches with the competition’s best side.

Rovers appeared to have a lifeline when Jez Litten went over, only for the officials to harshly pull the play back for a forward pass.

The Robins continued to bang away at the door but they left Saints territory empty-handed and were out of the match after seeing Hurrell run straight through the left edge.

KR scored a deserved third try late on through Coote from Shaun Kenny-Dowall’s neat kick in behind and the full-back converted to take his points haul to 14.

Defeat was confirmed shortly after but Rovers showed enough at the Totally Wicked Stadium to suggest they are one of the best six teams in Super League in 2022.

St Helens: Hopoate, Makinson, Hurrell, Davies, Grace, Welsby, Lomax, Walmsley, Roby, Lees, Bell, Batchelor, Knowles. Substitutes: Lussick, Paasi, Wingfield, Norman.

Hull KR: Coote, Ryan, Crooks, Kenny-Dowall, Hall, Lewis, Milnes, Storton, Parcell, King, Johnson, Halton, Hadley. Substitutes: Vete, Litten, Minchella, Keinhorst.

Referee: Marcus Griffiths (RFL).