Finishing the season is the name of the game for KR
HULL KR continue their Super League season with a game against Catalans Dragons tonight, kick-off 6.15pm (UK).
Rovers will be out to end a four-match losing run which has left them in danger of finishing bottom.
Here, KR reporter James O’brien previews the game in Perpignan.
ONE GAME CLOSER TO FINISH LINE
Make no mistake, it is all about survival and getting to the end of the season by any means necessary.
If that wasn’t abundantly clear before, events this week have shown just how desperate Super League is to complete the campaign and meet its obligations.
Castleford, Hull FC, Wakefield and Wigan have been badly hit by coronavirus protocols but will all play this week with one exception.
The Tigers would have fulfilled their fixture but for a separate injury crisis, with their replacements to play Leeds Rhinos only slightly better off.
Hull are down to the bare bones but put a team out, while Michael Carter joked Trinity’s injured players will play rock, paper, scissors to see who will make up their 17 against St Helens.
These are truly remarkable times and clubs deserve immense credit for their fortitude.
On the face of it Hull KR have escaped the worst of it but Tony Smith’s side have made a lot of sacrifices and only last week the experienced coach asked for more respect to be paid back to the players.
They are just getting on with it in the face of unprecedented adversity and should be applauded.
It will be like going back in time when KR arrive at Stade Gilbert Brutus.
Catalans are allowed to welcome 5,000 fans, a far cry from the eerie atmospheres in England since the restart. Rovers are viewing the change of environment as a positive and it could bring the best out of them after three flat displays.
KR won on their last visit to the south of France towards the end of last season, producing arguably their best performance under Smith to ultimately secure their Super League survival.
A win would be a welcome boost and is the least the long-suffering fans deserve, but with the greatest respect to the two teams nobody is going to remember this result when all is said and done.
Prediction: Catalans by 14
ONE TO WATCH OUT FOR
The Dragons team is packed with power and skill but two names stand out when you look at their squad. Joel Tomkins left KR suddenly at the end of last season, while Josh Drinkwater departed after just one year at Craven Park. It is fair to say Rovers fans didn’t see the best of Drinkwater in 2019 but the half-back is an important player for Catalans and he will be out to prove a point.
WHERE KR CAN GET AT CATALANS
While the Dragons are clearly a talented team, you never quite know what you’re going to get from them.
Steve Mcnamara’s side had lost three in a row before coming up against a heavily depleted Leeds, a game which allowed them to get back on track.
That vulnerability is still there, though, and KR only have to look back to last August for inspiration.