Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
STOPPED PLAYING FOR SMITH? RUBBISH
Minchella hits back at critics as poor Rovers bid to avoid a fourth straight defeat
EXCLUSIVE
Hull KR v Catalans KO 12.30pm VICE-CAPTAIN Elliot Minchella says it’s a “load of rubbish” that Hull KR have stopped playing for outgoing boss Tony Smith.
The confidence-battered Robins host Catalans Dragons today bidding to avoid a fourth straight defeat.
Their dismal run largely coincides with Smith’s shock announcement he will leave at the end of the season.
Before that, KR were flying on a five-game winning run.
They last defeated Wakefield but have since been embarrassingly nilled by Leeds (12-0) and Castleford (32-0) either side of Huddersfield easily dumping them out of the Challenge Cup in the semi-finals.
Australian Smith has come under fire with many critics feeling he’s lost the dressing room given his own players were stunned by the timing of his decision.
Loose forward Minchella admitted: “We don’t live under rocks – everybody sees what gets said.
“But I just think it’s a load of rubbish when people say we’re not playing for him.
“At the end of the day we’re sportsmen and we get paid to play for the club. While he’s our boss, we’ll listen to him, do his gameplans and we have ultimate respect for Tony.
“With a bit of bad form, people have put two and two together and said we’re not playing for him – but it is rubbish.
“In my opinion, he shouldn’t be getting the blame for our poor performances; it’s us players who go out there and make errors and miss tackles.
“It’s not Tony. That doesn’t change what he’s doing.”
The club moved swiftly to announce Newcastle Knights assistant Willie Peters will replace Smith in 2023.
But the ex-leeds and England coach is under mounting pressure now and in dire need of a win today.
Minchella, though, is confident the Robins can just as quickly turn things around.
“A month ago we were six from six and the form team in the competition,” he said.
“That’s sport, isn’t it? A month later, three losses in a row and people think it’s a crisis. But it’s not for us. Not in our bubble.
“It’s just a loss of form. Every team goes through it.
“It’s about coming out the other end. We know what we need to do and we’re all on board with it.”
It will be tough against last season’s beaten Grand Finalists Catalans Dragons, who have won four of their last five games and dismantled Warrington Wolves 40-8 last week.
But Minchella hopes playing in front of the Channel 4 cameras for the first time can see Rovers rediscover their fluent best.
“It’s great Channel 4 have got involved with the sport,” he said.
“We’re just playing our part, hopefully showcasing what we can do – and hopefully that sends us to the win we need.”