Three key issues KR must quickly address
ROVERS HAVE
Hull KR went down to another defeat, losing 32-0 away from home against Castleford Tigers. Tony Smith’s men have now lost three games on the bounce and have gone off the boil since their sixmatch winning streak earlier in the campaign.
We take a look at three key issues that need addressing, according to the statistics from Sunday’s defeat.
Workload down the middle
Hull KR are finding it tough to cope against their opposition packs at the moment, with the club unable to replace George King and Matty Storton when the regular starting pair are given a breather.
King produced an uncharacteristic offday against Castleford but has carried the Rovers pack for several weeks over a busy period, which is starting to take its toll on the Irish international.
Storton was KR’S best middle on the day with 129 metres to his name, but once again, the interchange bench failed to make an impact when needed.
Korbin Sims only racked up 58m during his stints, with Will Maher and Greg Richards all below the 60m mark with their efforts with the ball.
Smith is set to welcome back Elliot Minchella and Frankie Halton this week, which will be a significant boost for the Robins pack ahead of a formidable
Catalans middle.
Missed tackles
During their past three defeats, Rovers have shipped 69 points, which is largely down to some soft defensive efforts and poor positioning out wide.
The Robins missed an astonishing 79 tackles against Castleford, giving the Tigers an easy passage throughout the game. The lapses in defence are becoming a genuine concern and is an issue they must try to solve immediately.
King and Jimmy Keinhorst topped the missed tackles chart with nine, with Ben Crooks missing eight against his former employers.
Leading from the front
Rovers captain Shaun Kennydowall looked dejected when leaving the field on Sunday afternoon, but his efforts didn’t go unnoticed.
Kenny-dowall was a constant threat down his left-hand side, clocking up the highest metres made by a Rovers player with 203 and an average gain of 13m.
The skipper tried his best to make dents in the Castleford defence all afternoon with eight tackle busts to his name, but more times than not, he saw his efforts go to waste after some sloppy second phase attacking plays from his team-mates.
The former New-zealand international is out of contract at the end of the year, and with only four quota spots available for 2023, Willie Peters has a prominent call to make around the future of the Rovers captain.
TO GET IT RIGHT AGAINST