Hull KR 26-10 St Helens

A second half blitz from Hull KR helped them to a thrilling 26-10 win over league leaders St Helens.

The win all but secures a top four finish for Justin Morgan’s men in front of a sizeable crowd at Craven Park.

A low scoring first half was played at a terrific tempo and the game was superbly marshalled by Steve Ganson, who didn’t award a penalty until the opening minutes of the second half.

St Helens had the better of the opening stages and hit the front when James Graham crashed over on the back of a 40/20 by Leon Pryce.

Both sides continued to batter each other in the forwards and chances were spurned for the remainder of the first half. But in the closing stages, a loose pass bounced kindly for Kris Welham and he intercepted and raced away. He outpaced the defence to cross the line in the corner, and Michael Dobson slotted over the conversion on the hooter to give Rovers a narrow 6-4 half time advantage.

The try seemed to give the home side a psychological edge and it showed as Rovers blitzed Saints in the first half of the second period.

Jake Webster bagged a brace of tries within three minutes, and when Daniel Fitzhenry went over from dummy half on 54 minutes, the game was all but won.

The home side could have had more, but Ben Cockayne saw a try disallowed for obstruction before Liam Colbon was denied by a forward pass.

Peter Fox scored a fifth try for Rovers in the dying stages, but Saints had the final say, with Matt Gidley taking Jamie Ellis‘ kick on the full and finding winger Ade Gardner in the corner.