Leaders Hull KR bounce back with win at Catalans

Betfred Super League

Catalans (0) 6

Try: Aispuro-Bichet, Navarrete Goal

Hull KR (12) 34

Mikey Lewis’ comfortable victory over Dragons and Catalans ended the Super League leaders’ two-game losing streak.

Following a shock home defeat earlier on Saturday for the second-placed Wigan Warriors, the Robins now have a four-point lead at the top of the table. The reigning Man of Steel scored two tries and made one of Jack Broadbent’s two.

Lewis missed both the following week’s defeat at Leigh Leopards due to a head injury, which forced him to miss both that game and the following week’s reverse, but he made a comeback to give Willie Peters’ side shape and strategy.

Catalans, who had trouble breaking through a strong Rovers rearguard, could only respond with a consolation from Romain Navarrete with Joe Burgess adding another two tries.

The Robins were also sloppy defensively, conceding more points in those two games than they had in the previous seven, which contributed to those back-to-back defeats.

Although the Dragons, who have won one of their last ten games in all competitions, were weak in attack and made some poor errors, that had obviously also been worked on.

The Robins laid siege on the home team’s line with a simple catch from Lewis’ precise lobbed kick as Tyrone May slipped the ball to Broadbent for the opening try.

After two video reviews, Lewis refused to give him a first-half hat-trick as he raced on to Sam Luckley’s offload to score. The first noticed Broadbent knocking on Lewis before freeing him, and the second noticed as he touched down that the stand-off had dropped the ball.

The leaders of the league made sure during the second half.

Broadbent then grabbed his second pass from another slick Lewis pass, and Burgess sprinted clear from Broadbent’s pass.

Catalans were relieved when Navarrete pounced on Alrix Da Costa’s kick, but the French team disintegrated in the dying stages with two mistaken Cesar Rouge passes giving their opponents two penalties.

Interchanges: Balmforth, Sims, Maria, and Bousquet.

Mourgue, Davies, Hiku, Broadbent, Burgess, Lewis, May, Sue, McIlorum, Waerea-Hargeaves, R. Martin, Batchelor, Headley, and others are in Hull KR.

Interchanges: Leyland, Whitbread, Tanginoa, and Luckley