Tony Smith delighted to see Hull KR “fighting” for play-off spot
Hull KR coach Tony Smith believes his side have rediscovered their form at the crucial time of the season.
The Robins had eight different try-scorers in a sparkling show as they ended a three-match losing run in style to bring their play-off chances back into their own hands.
REPORT: Leigh 6-44 Hull KR: Rovers boost play-off hopes with big win over Centurions
Smith’s men will now go into next Saturday’s final home game of the regular season against Castleford knowing victory would be enough to help them leapfrog their opponents into sixth place with one round left.
“We’re in there fighting and I’m delighted about that,” Smith said.
“It was a good hit-out for us, it was probably the game we needed because in the last few weeks we’ve not been at our best.
“We were a little bit flat and a bit busted. We were just not fluid on attack so to have a performance like that and work our way into form will do us good.
“I was really pleased with our patience, we didn’t panic or push things. We spent a lot of time down their line and, when you do that, you put them under all sorts of pressure. We came home with some points because of it.
“I’m really glad that we built our game. We were not so good defensively for the last few weeks so there were some big improvements. I hope we can grow from that.”
Leigh began brightly with a try from winger Matty Russell and trailed only 10-6 at half-time but faded badly in the second half and are still looking for a first Magic Weekend victory.
Centurions interim head coach Kurt Haggerty admitted it was a game of contrasting halves and concedes his team were never truly equipped for their first season back in the top flight.
“It was brilliant for 40, disastrous for 40,” he said. “We just can’t seem to stop the rot once it starts.
“We’re just not up to it, we haven’t been up to it all year, especially in the second halves where we fall away.
“As a group we have not performed well enough to stop up.”