Hull KR ease past drab Dragons
Hull KR recorded their first Super League win of the season as they eased past Catalans 23-4.
Three first half tries from Ryan Shaw, Mose Masoe and Shaun Lunt put the Robins in control against a disappointing Dragons side who suffered a third successive loss.
It was hardly a classic on Thursday night at Craven Park, though that won’t mind Hull KR and their fans who followed up their encouraging performance at Leeds last week with what was a comfortable win here.
Perhaps a warning of what was to come came in the opening minutes when Benjamin Garcia played the ball to nobody, enabling Lee Jewitt to pounce and earn a turnover on the first set.
That was the first of a catalogue of errors from both sides and it was one of those errors that helped set up Hull KR for the opening score of the game.
Chris Atkin dabbed a kick through which Luke Walsh failed to gather in his own 10 metres, and from the resulting scrum, Hull KR shifted right with Will Dagger putting Shaw in for a tidy finish in the corner.
It was far from classic Super League fare and we had to wait half an hour for another score, and again it went to the home side.
Lunt’s chip and chase on the last came up good as he forced an error out of David Mead, and a few tackles later Masoe carried three defenders under the posts to touch down for his first Robins try.
And Hull KR tightened their increasing grip on the game with a third try shortly before half time. Another Catalans error was compounded by some weak defence under their own posts, enabling Lunt to dive over from dummy half, Shaw’s conversion giving the hosts a 16-0 half time advantage.
A composed start to the second half by the Robins saw them consolidate their position and they stretched their lead further when Danny Tickle stretched over for a debut try.
Catalans finally had something to write home about on the hour mark when Greg Bird bust through a tackle on the 30 metre mark and waited long enough for the supporting Mead to take the ball home for 22-4.
It never looked like being the start of a comeback, and even though Shaw hit the post with a penalty on 65 minutes, Hull KR comfortably held the Frenchmen at arm’s length.
And Atkin put the icing on the cake with a drop goal in the final minute to set them up for next week’s trip to Salford, a repeat of the 2016 Million Pound Game.
Hull KR: Dagger, Shaw, Salter, Minns, Carney, McGuire, Atkin, Jewitt, Lee, Mulhern, Blair, Clarkson, Kavanagh. Subs: Walne, Lunt, Masoe, Tickle.
Catalans: Mead, Broughton, Thornley, Tierney, Albert, Walsh, Casty, Aiton, Simon, Garcia, Bird, Baiteri.
