I will not shy away from goal kicking duties - Lewis
HULL KR star Mikey Lewis has added another string to his bow goal kicking.
With Lachlan Coote, Jordan Abdull and Rowan Milnes all injured for Rovers, the reins have been handed to the 21-year-old playmaker.
Most recently, he landed five out of seven conversions in the Robins’ 50-0 Challenge Cup victory over Batley Bulldogs.
Not shying away from the responsibility, Lewis is enjoying taking the tee and having that extra weight on his shoulders.
Lewis is far from being compared to a Mike Fletcher or Josh Mantellato just yet.
But the England gun is levelheaded about his new role and is eager to carry on slotting over the two in what could be a longterm duty.
“Most definitely,” said Lewis. “I had a go against Wakefield away and didn’t do the best, but I went away and kept practising. That’s all you can do. Then Cootie got injured, and so did Rowan (Milnes) and Jordan (Abdull), and I felt it was down to me to get those two points over the sticks.
“I take it as it comes and keep on practising. I kicked ok in the Warrington game.
“I know I missed the important one, but I won’t shy away from it.
“We scored a lot of tries against Batley, and that was good for me. It will add another string to my bow, and I’m really enjoying it.”
It’s not just kicking goals that Lewis has taken on under Willie Peters, his in-field game with the boot has also improved.
That said, so have Matt Parcell’s and Jez Litten’s.
People associate kicking and Hull KR with Abdull’s towering bombs, but the rest of Rovers’ spine are ensuring they aren’t just a one-trick pony.
“We all have bought into the kicking game. We know how important it is,” said Lewis.
“It also takes the pressure off Jordan when he’s playing. We have to make sure we are kicking well, especially Matt Parcell out of dummy half.
“You haven’t seen much of that over the years, but he has added that to his game, and it’s working well. Then Jez (Litten) has one of the best-kicking games in the league.”