Willie Peters defends Hull KR's record without Mikey Lewis as he provides Danny Richardson update
Willie Peters has defended Hull KR's ability to cope without Mikey Lewis – but admits the livewire playmaker brings an irreplaceable X factor to his team.
The reigning Man of Steel, who has scored 18 tries in 19 games this year, was sorely missed in last week's 28-10 defeat at Leigh Leopards.
Although Lewis was also on the sidelines for KR's other two losses to Wigan Warriors and Leeds Rhinos, Peters' men have claimed wins over Salford Red Devils and Hull FC in his absence.
Rovers were disrupted by first-half injuries against Leeds and Leigh, yet Peters concedes they are a different team when Lewis is not on the field.
"It was evident when Mikey went off that our attack went the other way," said the KR boss, who welcomes Lewis back against Catalans Dragons on Saturday. "We created a lot of opportunities against Leeds when he was on the field but just didn't execute our two v ones.
"We've had a couple of situations where Mikey hasn't played this year and we've handled it well – but we certainly missed his spark and energy the last two weeks.
"You look at Bevan French – Wigan are a totally different attacking team with him in the team. We're similar with Mikey. He gives us that X factor and individual brilliance that you can't teach.
"There are a few players in the competition – Mikey, Bevan French, Jai Field, Matt Dufty, George Williams – who can make something out of nothing.
"We value what he brings. He'll do that again this weekend."
Lewis was replaced by Danny Richardson last week but the experienced half-back limped off inside the opening quarter at Leigh Sports Village.
Richardson is facing a fight to keep his season alive after sustaining a serious ankle injury in a tackle by Edwin Ipape that has been questioned by Peters.
The incident was not cited by the match review panel.
"He's not good," said Peters.
"He's going to need an operation. We want to get a bit of clarification around the tackle. He came down on his legs – is that a hanger tackle?
"For me, it looked like one. The player has injured his ankle and that's what we're trying to take away.
"I want to get some clarification because we've lost a player for 10 to 12 weeks.
"It's not good at all for him. He understands that Mikey and Tyrone (May) have been our first-choice half-backs but he's worked hard to make sure he's been ready to go whenever he's played.
"He was brave to battle on because he did have some fractures in there."
Rovers also lost Jez Litten to a concussion during the defeat to Leigh after the hooker took a blow to the head as Lachlan Lam played the ball.
While frustrated by another incident that went unpunished, Peters is confident he has the depth to cover Litten's absence.
"I saw what Jez's face looked like, got feedback from him and watched it myself," added Peters. "They've made their decision so I won't go too much into it but I wasn't happy.
"We're still in a decent position in terms of our hooker options. Micky (McIlorum) has built his game now so we'll increase his minutes depending on the game. We've also got Bill Leyland who comes into contention now."