HULL KR 30 LEIGH LEOPARDS 0
DAVE PARKINSON, Sewell Group Craven Park, Sunday
DOMINANT HULL KR put Leigh firmly in their place with a five-try shut-out in which Mikey Lewis was outstanding.
The Robins’ talisman helped himself to 18 points as the club maintained their perfect start to the season to go three points clear at the top.
Rovers dominated much of the opening period and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves was stopped on the line early. They ramped up the pressure and, after Leigh threw a forward pass, Oliver Gildart opened the scoring after seven minutes, getting past Umyla Hanley.
The hosts continued to dominate and another chance fell the Robins’ way. Elliot Minchella smuggled the ball out and Lewis crossed in support for their second try in the 14th minute following a lengthy deliberation from video referee Ben Thaler. Lewis also goaled for a 10-0 advantage.
Leigh finally got a break when Lewis kicked long and from the ensuing set Gareth O’Brien kicked high and Joe Burgess spilled possession. The Leopards thought they had got over when David Armstrong offloaded to Bailey Hodgson, but he couldn’t resist an extra lunge at the line and the try was disallowed.
Hull KR frittered away a golden chance on 26 minutes when Tyrone May collected a Lachlan Lam kick but Tom Davies put the ball down with open pasture in front of him.
An uncharacteristic error from Dean Hadley then had Leigh thankful but the big difference in the first half was Rovers’ defence, regularly restricting metres and forcing the Leopards to kick from deep.
The home fans celebrated a third try five minutes from half-time when Lewis offloaded in a tackle and Kelepi Tanginoa ran in at the side of the posts for the star halfback to goal and make it 16-0.
With the last play of the half, the Robins quickly took play left and Gildart released Burgess who kicked infield for Lewis to take on the full for a second opportunist score and then goal for a healthy 22-0 advantage.
The hosts had a solid start to the new half, again controlling where they turned over possession, until Jack Broadbent spilled a high kick. This gave the Leopards a rare opportunity but again Hull KR’s defence held firm.
A Tesi Nui break briefly lifted Leigh’s attack when he made almost 40 metres, but this time Burgess took Lam’s angled kick for the corner ahead of Keanan Brand.
Rovers then caught Leigh offside with 15 minutes remaining and Lewis kicked the penalty to put Rovers four scores clear.
They then created a golden opportunity when Burgess recovered May’s kick and they swept play right only for Davies to fumble at a crucial moment.
Within a minute they were back in possession and Davies outstripped the defence thanks to two quality offloads from Sam Luckley and James Batchelor.
Lewis’ fifth goal completed the scoring as they picked up their seventh win in all competitions in a perfect season to date.
GAMESTAR: Mikey Lewis’ class and reaction speed shone through, especially in the first half when scoring two tries and setting one up.
GAMEBREAKER: Lewis’ second try put too much daylight between the teams on the cusp of half-time.
HIGHLIGHT REEL: Tom Davies’ diving finish was spectacular and crowned victory.
ALBERT GOLDTHORPE POINTS
3 pts Mikey Lewis (Hull KR)
2 pts Dean Hadley (Hull KR)
1 pt Tom Davies (Hull KR)
MATCHFACTS
HULL KR
18 Jack Broadbent
2 Tom Davies
3 Peta Hiku
4 Oliver Gildart
5 Joe Burgess
6 Mikey Lewis
7 Tyrone May
8 Sauaso Sue
14 Michael McIlorum
10 Jared Wearea-Hargreaves
11 Dean Hadley
12 James Batchelor
13 Elliot Minchella
Subs (all used)
9 Jez Litten
15 Sam Luckley
16 Jai Whitbread
20 Kelepi Tanganoa
18th man (not used)
21 Jack Brown
Also in 21-man squad
19 Danny Richardson
25 Billy Leyland
26 AJ Wallace
Tries: Gildart (7), Lewis (14, 39), Tanginoa (35), Davies (70)
Goals: Lewis 5/6
LEOPARDS
1 David Armstrong
24 Bailey Hodgson
3 Tesi Niu
4 Umyla Hanley
18 Keanan Brand
6 Gareth O’Brien
7 Lachlan Lam
8 Owen Trout
9 Edwin Ipape
15 Alec Tuitavake
20 Ethan O’Neill
12 Jack Hughes
13 Isaac Liu
Subs (all used)
14 Aaron Pene
16 Matt Davis
17 Brad Dwyer
19 Louis Brogan
18th man (not used)
21 Andy Badrock
Also in 21-man squad
22 Ben McNamara
23 Nathan Wilde
29 AJ Towse
SCORING SEQUENCE: 4-0, 10-0, 16-0, 22-0; 24-0, 30-0
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Hull KR: Mikey Lewis; Leopards: Tesi Nui
Penalty count: 6-3
Half-time: 22-0
Referee: Liam Moore
Attendance: 11,231