Who wants it most will be the key, says Connor

The England star was suspended on a dissent charge when they lost the last time the sides met on the opening round of the season.

Hull led at KCOM Craven Park until Rovers’ Jimmy Keinhorst scored with the final play.

“I thought we had it in the bag and they pulled out a try at the death to win it,” recalled Connor.

“It wasn’t nice watching from the sidelines. I think we owe them a bit of payback.

“It’s just who wants it on the day in these derbies. We should have a few fresh faces back and we’ll fly into the derby game with everything but, first things first, we want that win.”

Hull were on the right end of a late victory themselves when they beat Catalans Dragons in ‘Golden Point’ extra-time in Perpignan on Saturday, a victory that has done wonders for morale.

Connor, 24, said: “We talked about that. If we’d have lost, a few heads would have been down and it’s derby week – you have to be excited for it.

“But that win’s just knocked it up a notch. I’m really looking forward to it.”

It will be intriguing to see, too, whether he gets the nod at stand-off. Connor – who normally plays centre for Hull – has made no secret of the fact he wants the role.

On his return from a knee injury in France, Lee Radford selected him there ahead of Albert Kelly, who was dropped to the bench.

Was Connor surprised?

He said: “No, not really. The position is up for anyone and we’re both good players and both good at running the ball.

“At the end of the day, it’s the coach’s call and Alby came on, did a great job and I moved to centre and I got a bit of ball. It played out well and we got the win so it didn’t really matter.”

Veteran KR stand-off Danny McGuire rated Connor one of Super League’s best players earlier this week. The Hull star said: “That was nice to hear; he’s a legend isn’t he?

“I don’t think there’s been a better half-back in Super League and he’s still going strong. He’s still steering the ship at Hull KR, pulling things out of the bag.

“I’ve always watched him as he’s always been a great player and someone good to learn off. He’s been massive for KR, too.”