Sheens: Our fitness saw us through

Tim Sheens believes Hull KR’s superior fitness was the key to their narrow 20-19 success against Bradford in Saturday’s final game at the Summer Bash.

Swirling rain made for difficult conditions at Bloomfield Road, but Rovers fought off a spirited Bulls side to move six points clear at the top of the Championship.

“We expect dropped ball on contact on days like today, but I thought we handled it reasonably well,” Sheens told the club’s official website.

“We were under the pump for a while with them going in front early on. Overall our defence was pretty strong, particularly our goal line defence, and our fitness shone through in the end as we ground out a tough two points.

“They had a couple of guys come off injured, but a lot of it had to do with the fact our lads are fit and strong and we persevered.

“The occasion was always going to bring out the best in all teams, but it comes down to the conditions. We practiced all week in dry conditions and had to adjust during the 15 minute warm up.

“But I’m very happy with our attitude and our execution wasn’t too bad. Any mistakes we made we backed up with some strong defence.

“(Jamie) Ellis and (Jordan) Abdull are developing the ability to know what to do and manage the game instinctively which is pleasing to see.

“I think we are developing as a team, (Ben) Kavanagh had a strong game and (Joe) Cator – you just give it to him and he goes and goes. He has a good future ahead of him and his attitude is focused and he is very level headed.

“There was fantastic support from the fans, too. They travelled in massive numbers and the boys love to go show appreciation to them.

“We probably should have kicked a goal when we didn’t and kicked one when we shouldn’t have, but they didn’t give us too much grief for it.”