Saints suffered a 6-42 defeat at home to Hull KR on Saturday afternoon at the Totally Wicked Stadium...
Three minutes in we had a trip to the video referee. Saints made a mess of the kick off which gifted the Robins the ball ten metres out. After a set restart, the visitors shifted it right and Joe Burgess was able to finish well in the corner. Mikey Lewis couldn’t convert, 0-4 Saints trailed.
Soon after Saints were reduced to twelve men for ten minutes. Waqa Blake caught Lewis high as he fell and saw a yellow card. Hull KR made the most of their extra man with another try. Quick hands down the left edge saw Jack Broadbent release Ryan Hall who raced down the wing before finding Lewis in support who scored from close range. Lewis converted his own try, 0-10.
With Saints still down to twelve men, another try followed. The Robins burst forward again, moved it left and Tyrone May threw a dummy before breezing through a gap to score. Lewis converted, 0-16 the Robins led.
The visitors grabbed their fourth try within the opening 20 minutes soon after. Off the back of a penalty, the Robins shifted it from left to right and Peta Hiku found Burgess who crossed for his second of the day in the corner. Lewis couldn’t convert, 0-20.
Hull KR nearly grabbed a fifth soon after. Niall Evalds set Burgess away down the wing, he found Matt Parcell in support, but Saints were able to scramble back before conceding a goal-line dropout. The following set, the Robins thought they had another as Parcell dove over from close range, but the play was brought back for a forward pass.
Burgess grabbed his hat-trick just before the break. Again, they moved it from left to right, Hiku finding Burgess who raced down the wing before cutting inside and scoring. Lewis converted, 0-26 the visitors led at the break.
Half time.#COYS pic.twitter.com/7MBnAmiRZs
— St.Helens R.F.C. (@Saints1890) August 24, 2024
Eight minutes into the second half, we had another trip upstairs. Parcell found Kelepi Tanginoa who was able to burrow his way over from close range. The on-field verdict of try agreed with after a few looks. Lewis converted, 0-32.
Saints’ best chance of the second half came 18 minutes in. Jonny Vaughan broke down the left edge and tried to find an offload to Tommy Makinson, he was stopped by a covering Hull KR defence though.
Saints did score with 15 minutes to go. George Whitby put a kick in, which Evalds spilt and Whitby recovered it by planting the loose ball down. He turned four points into six with the conversion, 6-32 Saints trailed.
A moment to remember for @Saints1890 youngster and debutant George Whitby 👏#SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/de3tDBC5kx
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) August 24, 2024
The Robins then grabbed their seventh try of the day. May threw a cut-out pass down the right edge which found Burgess, he broke a tackle before scoring in the corner. Lewis couldn’t convert, 6-36.
With five minutes to go, Makinson was sent off for Saints following a collision with May, which the referee initially hadn’t awarded anything for. We had another trip to the video referee during that set. A kick over the top was collected by Jai Whitbread, who despite Harry Robertson’s best efforts, was able to score. The on-field verdict of try agreed with. Lewis’ conversion bounced in off the post, 6-42.
⏹ Full time.
Saints fall to a heavy defeat at home to Hull KR.#COYS pic.twitter.com/NIchAnnjsZ
— St.Helens R.F.C. (@Saints1890) August 24, 2024
FIRST TEAM vs Hull KR – Teamsheet
Match Summary
Saints Team: Harry Robertson, Tommy Makinson, Waqa Blake, Jonny Vaughan, Tee Ritson, Jonny Lomax, George Whitby, George Delaney, Moses Mbye, Matty Lees, Matt Whitley, Sione Mata’utia, Joe Batchelor.
Interchanges: Agnatius Paasi, Sam Royle, Jake Burns, Noah Stephens.
18th Man: Ben Davies.
Tries: George Whitby (65)
Conversions: George Whitby (1 from 1)
Sin Bin: Waqa Blake (8)
Red Card: Tommy Makinson (75)
Hull KR Team: Niall Evalds, Joe Burgess, Peta Hiku, Jack Broadbent, Ryan Hall, Tyrone May, Mikey Lewis, Sauaso Sue, Matt Parcell, Jai Whitbread, Dean Hadley, James Batchelor, Elliott Minchella.
Interchanges: Jez Litten, Sam Luckley, Matty Storton, Kelepi Tanginoa.
18th Man: Jack Brown.
Tries: Joe Burgess (3, 20, 35, 70), Mikey Lewis (12), Tyrone May (16), Kelepi Tanginoa (48), Jai Whitbread (75)
Conversions: Mikey Lewis (5 from 8)
HT: 0-26
FT: 6-42
Attendance: 13,588
