Friday 17 February 2017

Sunday's Coming 2: Hull KR

It’s that time of the week where we usually do a run down of the opposition’s squad. Unlike last season, it’s easier to get more detail on players, but our favourite run-down of the Hull KR side from last week’s narrow win at London Broncos comes courtesy of Hull Daily Mail reporter Gareth Westmorland - who was brutally honest in his summary of the Robins’ individual performances in that game

Adam Quinlan: “Came up with crucial tackles… unpredictable but very effective”
Kieren Moss: “… Poor defence in the second half… “
Thomas Minns: “Strong in the tackle…  but will seek to improve his defence…”
Andrew Heffernan: “Looks to be improving in confidence… despite the poor overall team performance”
Ryan Shaw: “Comfortable under the high ball and got KR out of trouble a few occasions”
Jordan Abdull: “Could prove to be crucial in his side's fortunes during 2017”
Jamie Ellis: Takes control of each match he plays in… did just about enough in the playmaking contest”
Nick Scruton: “Good in the hard yards within KR's pack”
Shaun Lunt: “One of a few praised by coach Tim Sheens after an abject showing from the squad… devastating from dummy-half”
Mitch Clark: “Made the crucial yards required for KR to get on the front foot …finding the extra yardage with increasing leg work”
Maurice Blair: “A quiet display… did just about enough to secure a win”
James Greenwood: “Guilty of uncharacteristic errors and missed tackles … has to improve to keep his spot”
Danny Addy:  “Could look to get more involved in the attack”

Replacements

Liam Salter: “Slotted into the second-row in a new position in the second-half”
Chris Clarkson: “Brought vigour from the bench when Scruton and Clark were substituted”
James Donaldson: “Another body to bring some power from the replacements”
George Lawler: “Got stuck in when brought onto the field”


Former Bradford prop Ben Kavanagh will be added to Tim Sheens' 19-man squad for Sunday's game. Having missed out on a full pre-season due to the collapse of the Bulls, Kavanagh is creeping back towards the form that saw him selected for Scotland in last year’s Four Nations.

Assistant coach James Webster told the Hull Daily Mail: "We still think he's a couple of weeks off from the standard which he played so well at for Scotland. He's in contention to play on Sunday for sure, like he has been the last few weeks.”

But Webster, like Head Coach Tim Sheens, has also questioned his players’ attitude given their leaky defence over the first couple of weeks.

According to the Hull Daily Mail: “…tricky wintry conditions will see (HKR’s) play adapted to more forward-based work. A war of attrition is expected in Manchester (sic - they clearly have no idea where Rochdale is) on Sunday and KR are hoping to adapt to the conditions quickly on their travels.

Webster said: “I’ve seen plenty of Championship teams win games without making a line break. We would love an open free-flowing game which suits us but at the moment, it's winter, the start of the year and there'll be plenty of stuff down the middle. However, Rochdale will look to throw the ball around, judging on their opening games."

On playing a part-time side, he’s quoted as saying: “I think people devalue a lot of teams in this competition, simply because they don't see them on TV. These players are as physically strong as Super League players. When I was at Wakefield and we trained with other clubs, the weights in the gym are the same – it's just the other factors, such as us training full-time, which gives us that advantage."

Which is, of course what Toulouse and Bradford thought.

See you Sunday.