Leeds 12-0 Hull KR: Robins lose Lachlan Coote in Headingley defeat

Hull KR are sweating on Lachlan Coote ahead of next week’s Challenge Cup semi-final after the full-back left the field in their 12-0 defeat at Leeds.

The buoyant Robins went into the game looking to set a new club record of seven straight Super League wins but conjured their worst display of the season as tries from Matt Prior and Morgan Gannon earned the injury-ravaged hosts their second successive victory.

Full-back Lachlan Coote was helped off for a head injury assessment after a clattering collision with Kruise Leeming early in the second half and did not reappear, while there are also question marks over centre Sam Wood who was helped off the field shortly after.

Robins boss Tony Smith had rested captain Shaun Kenny-Dowall with an eye on the semi-final against Huddersfield, but made only two more changes as Wood, Matt Parcell and Will Maher all returned.

Smith watched a dismal performance from his side whose constant errors and indiscipline helped the hosts, reeling with around 12 players absent and featuring a third-choice full-back in Jack Broadbent, to ease to a victory as valuable as it was unexpected.

The visitors were sloppy from the start, and moments after centre Ben Crooks gave away a penalty in centre-field, the same player fluffed Blake Austin’s grubber kick to let Prior in to tumble over the line.

With Rhyse Martin’s conversion, Leeds had established an early advantage that they would retain for the remainder of a forgettable first 40 minutes, in which constant errors numbed what attacking threat Rovers could muster.

HT: Leeds Rhinos 6-0 Hull KR

Broadbent, growing into his unfamiliar role, almost sent Ash Handley clear as Leeds pummelled a weakened Rovers left flank, while the visitors’ best early chance ended when Crooks flung a charging Ethan Ryan a forward pass.

Elliot Minchella and Korbin Sims both knocked on in promising positions and with almost the last move of the first period, Rovers finally looked likely to break their deadlock before some superb Leeds defending stopped Ryan Hall yards from the try line.

Rovers missed a glorious chance to score with their first set of the second half when they pounced on a loose kick but Wood was penalised for a forward pass to the lurking Hall.

The visitors were punished, and yet again they only had themselves to blame as Gannon capitalised on Rovers’ hesitation in gathering a grubber kick to let the second row in for the Rhinos’ second try.

Just when it seemed it could hardly get worse for Rovers, Coote required extensive treatment after a major collision with Leeming yards from the Rovers try line.

All Leeds had to do was continue to mop up after Rovers indiscipline, and when Parcell went high on Broadbent, Martin kicked two to extend the home side’s lead to 12-0 just before the hour mark.

To round off a miserable night for the Robins, prop Albert Vete spent the last 10 minutes in the sin-bin after a high tackle on Cameron Smith.

FT: Leeds Rhinos 12-0 Hull KR

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