MEAD IS A FOURCE

CHRIS Clarkson is playing for his Hull Kingston Rovers future today - once again.

Clarkson is one of five surviving members from the unforgettable 2016 Million Pound Game, when the Robins threw away a two score lead to Salford in the dying seconds before losing on golden point.

The 28-year-old was kept on by the club in the Championship as Rovers bounced straight back up.

But anything less than a 13-point win against already-relegated Widnes today will leave them in another all-or-nothing shootout, and this time the promotion – opportunities next year will be limited to just one club.

Clarkson is out of contract in November and is using that fact as extra motivation for today’s game.

The experienced back-rower said: “I’ve not got anything sorted and the club has postponed everything until after the last game.

“It does add pressure, but, personally, I’m using it as a positive and being something to strive for so I don’t have a dip in form.

“It’s helped me in that way, and I’d love to stay.

Spectacle

“I’ve made that clear to the coaching staff because I’ve enjoyed my time here and hope it continues.

“The last Million Pound Game hasn’t been mentioned, but I’m sure it’s in some lads’ heads.

“You don’t want to play in those DAVID Mead grabbed four secondhalf tries to end Challenge Cup winners Catalans’ season on a high.

The Dragons trailed 12-0 at the break after twin teenagers Innes and Louis Senior touched down for the Giants. But Steve Mcnamara’s men regrouped after the break games again - it’s not very nice and this competition isn’t very nice. I’ve played in the Qualifiers every year since it was introduced and I’m glad it’s being scrapped, even though I can see why some people want it.

“It’s a good spectacle when you’re not involved, but, when you’re in the middle, it’s just not enjoyable.

“Now we just want to make sure we’re focused this weekend and get the win.”

Rovers would already be closer with Papua New Guinean international Mead drawing the scores level. And when Huddersfield’s Ryan Hinchcliffe was sin-binned in his last-ever game the Dragons sensed blood. Drinkwater created Mead’s third before the winger brought the house down with a clinching fourth. to safety had they not thrown away a 19-0 lead in Toulouse last Saturday, plunging them into a final weekend scenario where six clubs were in the running for a Super League spot before kick-off.

For the Robins the equation is now simple – beat the Vikings by more than 13 points and their topflight place is assured.

Clarkson added: “We looked safe last week at 19-0 up and, in all honesty, I think that got into a lot of people’s heads.

Dangerous

“We have to refocus on the task in hand and not let our minds slip again – we’ve learned from that and it’ll be a lot different this week.

“Widnes have nothing to play for and you can look at that two ways – teams can be a lot more dangerous with nothing to lose and can play with freedom. That would make this Widnes side a pretty tough team to play against.

“But we can’t look at them to much – all our focus has been on ourselves and we know we need to be better than last week.”

Catalans 22 Huddersfield 12