Hull KR did enough to strengthen their grip on third place in the Betfred Super League after beating Leigh 22-8 in an error-strewn and largely forgettable encounter at Sewell Group Craven Park.
The low-key manner of Rovers’ victory will not concern head coach Willie Peters, whose side have won two in a row as they continue to shrug off the disappointment of their thumping Betfred Challenge Cup final loss to Wigan.
A first-half burst proved more than enough for the hosts against opponents whose frequent errors made life difficult for themselves, and begs questions about their ability to hang in for a play-off push.
Hull KR’s Mikey Lewis is tackled
The early signs were ominous for the visitors, with Mikey Lewis darting through a gap in the Leigh defence with just three minutes gone only to be pulled back for a forward pass.
Six minutes later, Lewis was integral in Rovers breaking the deadlock as his pass to Rhyse Martin split the Leigh rearguard and set up Joe Burgess to somersault over in the corner.
Martin kicked the extras and with less than a quarter of an hour on the clock, Rovers extended their lead when Peta Hiku ran on to a clever Tyrone May grubber to touch down his fourth try of the season.
At that point it seemed that Leigh, scoreless on each of their previous two visits to Craven Park, would be fortunate to escape with much less than their 30-point loss on their most recent trip in March.
Hull KR’s Karl Lawton has scored two tries so far this season
But they rallied in an increasingly scrappy encounter, and got on the scoreboard on 20 minutes when Jacob Alick-Wiencke wriggled over after Umlya Hanley’s pass took a fortunate deflection into his hands.
Rovers started the second half under some pressure but, after losing Burgess to a head injury assessment, they seized the chance to extend their lead when Jai Whitbread stepped through the Leigh defence to score their third.
Although they remained far from convincing, they were gifted a potentially decisive fourth try just 10 minutes into the half when Bill Leyland wrenched his way through three tacklers to snatch what was an embarrassing one for the visitors to concede.
Martin nailed his second kick to take Rovers 16 points clear and Leigh continued to spurn numerous chances until Bailey Hodgson crossed in the right corner with less than 10 minutes left on the clock. Martin’s late penalty put the gloss on a comfortable win for the hosts.
Six-try Wakefield rout Hull
Mike McMeeken scuffles with Harvie Hill
Wakefield returned to winning ways in the Betfred Super League with a comprehensive 36-10 victory over Hull FC.
Trinity were well beaten by Wigan last weekend but four first-half tries all but wrapped up the points.
The first two arrived within 15 minutes, both scored by Tom Johnstone and created by Jake Trueman, with Max Jowitt flawless in his kicking throughout.
Wakefield’s Max Jowitt kicks for goal
Wakefield were given a helping hand in the 27th minute when Herman Ese’ese was sent to the sin-bin for a high tackle, with the Hull man a touch fortunate to avoid a red card.
The visitors took full advantage, with Jack Sinfield playing in Seth Nikotemo in the 32nd minute before Mike McMeeken finished off a series of offloads.
Tom Johnstone scores a try
Hull responded well after half-time and finally got themselves on the scoreboard in the 47th minute, Tom Briscoe using his pace to cross in the corner.
When Davy Litten added a second 12 minutes later, running through the middle after taking the ball from Briscoe, it appeared the home side might be able to find a way back into the game.
But more indiscipline cost Hull, with Jeremiah Mata’utia sin-binned for a late and high hit on Sinfield, and Wakefield added late tries through Jazz Tevaga and a second for Nikotemo.
2026 Super League – key dates and what to look out for
- Magic Weekend: July 4-July 5
- Rivals Round reversed: July 23-July 26
- Elimination Play-offs: September 19-September 20
- Play-off semi-finals: September 26-September 27
- Grand Final: October 3, Old Trafford
Sky Sports will again show every game of the Super League live this season – including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining five matches each week shown on Sky Sports+
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