Archive August 29, 2025

Betfred Super League

Hull KR (2) 12

Goals: Martin 4

St. Helens (2) 8

With a close game 12-8 victory over St. Helens, Hull KR moved six points clear of the top of the standings at Craven Park.

After Rhyse Martin’s kick had given the hosts an early lead, Mark Percival’s penalty levelled the score at four points after a fiercely fought first half dominated by both defenses.

Rovers were six clear heading into the final quarter when Saints finally started to wilt as a result of three more Martin penalties.

Joe Burgess scored with a brilliant flat pass from Mikey Lewis to make it 12-2, which was sufficient despite a Saints late Deon Cross try.

After just eight minutes, loose forward Morgan Knowles was forced to miss with a head injury after firing a high shot that gave Martin ten minutes in the penalty box.

When half-back Lewis returned to the field after limping off, and George Delaney, who was playing for Knowles, had his shoulder slammed into Eribe Doro’s head, giving the home fans a sigh of relief, he could have seen worse than a yellow card.

As Rovers attempted to use their man advantage, but a fine scramble defence prevented them in a breathless and scoreless opening half-hour, Martin was inches short and James Batchelor knocked in close to the line.

After Joe Batchelor was fined for an off-the-ball hit on Jez Litten, Martin nudged the hosts ahead, but Saints, who had been a cosh for a while, eventually won level through Percival when Litten was pinged for ruck interference.

Soon after the restart, Joe Batchelor unlawfully prevented Lewis from following up his chip and chase, and Martin kicked a straightforward penalty from his shoulder.

After Peta Hiku stubbed his foot in the opening try, Tom Davies was denied the try, but Rovers jumped out to six points with two quick penalties, with Delaney forcing him to hold on after Lewis slammed into the end zone.

The visitors finally showed signs of wear and tear as Lewis, who unsurprisingly unpick the lock, set up field position with a superb 40-20 kick before providing the try assist, led the charge.

Willie Peters, the head coach of Hull KR, told BBC Radio Humberside:

“I thought we lost last week [at Leeds] in every way,” I thought. This week, we played and responded most effectively.

We’ve got the result, but I’m really, really happy with it because it was a tough, gritty Hull KR performance.

“They’re difficult to break down when you’re facing one of the best defensive teams in the competition,” said one player who ended up taking penalty kicks because they wanted to take the points.

We wanted to be great at that, and I thought for a lot of our time that we were great at that.

Paul Wellens, the head coach of St. Helens, told BBC Radio Merseyside:

In terms of the effort and intensity, I thought it was a really high-quality game. It sounded like a play-off.

“I’m really proud of the players for keeping things moving throughout the game.” There were times in the game when we were put under a lot of pressure.

We wilted under that pressure “ten or eleven weeks ago,” but we certainly didn’t that tonight. As a team, I believe we’ve come a long way.

Luckley, Tanginoa, Doro, and Leyland are exchanges.

Welsby, Sailor, Robertson, Percival, Cross, Lomax, Mbye, Walmsley, Clark, Lees, Sironen, Whitley, Knowles, and others.

Batchelor, Paasi, Delaney, and Burns are exchanges.

Oleksandr Zinchenko could leave Arsenal with a £30 offer for Alexander Isak, Rasmus Hojlund is close to moving to Napoli, Maximilian Beier’s bid rejected, and Liverpool make a £130 offer for the former.

Alexander Isak, 25, a striker from Sweden who is expected to earn a better £130 million offer, according to Liverpool, with additions and bonuses adding to the club’s transfer record to the British Premier League. (Telegraph requires a subscription)

Rasmus Hojlund, 22, will join Napoli on a season-long loan with a conditional purchase requirement of £38 million, according to Manchester United. (Athletic – A subscription required)

Borussia Dortmund turned down an offer from Brentford for 22-year-old German international Maximilian Beier worth about £45 million. (Athletic – A subscription required)

Christoph Baumgartner, 26, an Austria attacking midfielder for RB Leipzig, is a hotspot for Crystal Palace. (Sky Sports)

David Brooks, a 28-year-old winger from Bournemouth, has also been offered for an $8 million by Crystal Palace, but the Cherries do not want to sell the Welsh international. (Sun)

Chelsea winger Tyrique George has been offered by Roma, but Fulham, Crystal Palace, and German champion Bayern Munich are also keeping an eye on the 19-year-old English winger. (Sky Sports)

Manuel Akanji, a 30-year-old Switzerland international, is being pursued by AC Milan, who is also interested in Crystal Palace. (Sky Sports)

Former Chelsea team Monaco are interested in signing the 27-year-old France centre-back on loan, but Bournemouth and Aston Villa are also interested. (Footmercato – in French)

Kostas Tsimikas, 29, will join the Serie A club on loan, according to Liverpool and Roma, who are currently negotiating the final details of a deal. (Gianluca di Marzio, Italian)

Although Marseille are interested in signing Arsenal and Ukraine full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko, his wages could prove a hindrance. (Athletic – A subscription required)

Gianluigi Donnarumma, an unnamed Premier League club that has joined Manchester City as a potential replacement for the Italy goalkeeper, is still looking at leaving Paris St-Germain prior to the deadline. (Sky Sports)

Following yet another brutal Grand Slam loss, Emma Raducanu finds comfort.

The world’s leading players, who Raducanu believes have additional motivation to defeat her, have faced her in all four of her defeats at this year’s major tournaments.

In the third round of the US Open, the British No. 1 was defeated by 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, who had earlier claimed just three games.

That came after six-time major champion Iga Swiatek and six-time champion Iga Swiatek both suffered similar one-sided defeats at the Australian and French Opens, but Raducanu did take on world no. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets at Wimbledon.

“When the very top players play against me, they have a point to prove that they are at the top, and they are there for a reason,” said 36th-ranked Raducanu, who recently appointed Francisco Roig as Rafael Nadal’s former coach.

“I believe that has been demonstrated by every time I’ve played one,” he said.

The top have definitely raised their game, in my opinion, even though I’m improving, doing better, and earning some more respect.

Multe questions have been raised about Raducanu’s revolving door of coaches since her US Open victory.

Raducanu enjoys learning, and she once attributed this to her high coaching turnover by asking “questions of them.”

The Spaniard who helped Nadal win each of his 22 Grand Slam titles with Roig’s recent appointment seems like a long-term wager.

The 57-year-old Catalan has an unparalleled technical knowledge, according to those who have had the opportunity to work with him.

The pair’s cooperation will continue until the season’s end.

Although it’s only been three weeks, the three weeks have been pretty productive, in the sense that we’ve made some positive improvements. Raducanu, who plans to return to competitive action when the Asian hard-court swing debuts next month, said.

He can’t really work miracles, he said, “but today my weaknesses were highlighted.”

As part of the BBC Radio 5 Live commentary team, Croft observed Raducanu’s defeat and described him as “very tactical, very demanding, and very vocal.”

She will respond to it and I believe she likes that. “Working with such a great champion for a number of years couldn’t be better, couldn’t it get better.

The fact that Raducanu did not drop serve during her opening two matches in New York has made her serve a more potent weapon over the course of the season.

However, Rybakina’s first-serve percentage alarmingly decreased, and she was harshly punished.

It’s important to develop my serve because it’s improved but still thinks it can improve,” Raducanu said.

I have some significant work to do because I’m ready for a quick return after the serve as well.

“Once I’m in the rally, I feel fine, but when I’m against Elena, I hardly ever felt in a rally.”

Raducanu and Rybakina faced off in New York on a high of optimism.

She is on the verge of regaining her place in the top 30 after a successful season where she spent more time on the court and appeared more resilient.

Since losing the US Open in September 2022, Raducanu’s ranking has not increased.

But she was unable to get a seed at Flushing Meadows, leaving her vulnerable when she had to face a highly ranked player early in the draw.

It’s tough because I’ve lost to Aryna and Elena twice, according to Rapcananu.

“But at the same time, that’s where I’m at with regard to my ranking. In the first, second, or third round, I can face formidable opponents.

“So I just need to do my best in the upcoming months until Australia, where I can just keep working to try to bridge the gap.

Less than a month after their Wimbledon meeting, Sabalenka was encouraged by twice pushing her to three sets in Cincinnati.

However, Rybakina’s chastening defeat, which saw her repeatedly hit the Briton off the court with insulting winners, served as a reminder of how she still needs to get better.

In her 18 career matches against top-10 opponents, Raducanu now has won just three of those three.

I believe I’m improving overall, she said, “depending on the day and how we match up.”

The defeat of Raducanu served as another illustration of how her game struggled to compete with the dominant players.

Despite being able to defeat Sabalenka in Cincinnati, Raducanu was helped by her opponent’s inconsistent performance and a lack of regular examination.

Rybakina’s radical attack was a different idea.

The Kazakh, 26, only managed to land 47% of her first serves, but 81% of those points were won, and 63% of her second-serve points were claimed.

In defensive situations, Raducanu frequently found himself pinned back behind the baseline, unable to elude dragging Rybakina out of the wings.

American former world number six Chanda Rubin, who also worked for 5 Live, said, “You have to have your strategy right away against top players.”

Everything is in your favor because you get behind or start trying to figure out how to play them in real time.

Although Raducanu won’t be a superstar, she could have taken more chances and gotten richer.

Croft thinks Raducanu might benefit from practice sessions with male opponents in between tournaments to help her with adapting to pace.

“I once had the privilege of training with Steffi Graf, and she did it all with blokes,” Croft said. “Everything was coming at her so quickly, hard, and flat.