Hull KR’s Grand Final hopes OVER as Warrington emerge as genuine contenders

It was a night of opportunity for two teams, and it was Warrington Wolves who capitalised.

Two of Super League’s Grand Final hopefuls clashed on a rare Tuesday night of action, and Sam Burgess’ men prevailed in a win that opened the door to major optimism for both clubs.

Hull KR would have moved to third with a victory here. Alas, in winning, the Wire retained that place in the table with four rounds remaining.

The difference for them is that they now sit just two points adrift of Super League’s top two, who still have to play each other before the season ends.

Warrington, by contrast, have just one of Super League’s top nine teams left to play. Their run in is beyond favourable and with that, they have a genuine chance not only of landing a coveted top-two spot, but potentially the League Leaders’ Shield too.

One of Leeds and Wigan will drop points, and if Warrington win their games, they’re right in the mix by default.

But crucially now, you cannot say the table lies. It doesn’t. Warrington have been in and around top spot all year, and on this evidence, they deserve to be too.

They’ve wobbled at times. Following George Williams’ next injury, their form did dip and they flattered to deceive at times. But more often than not, they won. They found a way. For a side regularly criticised for having a soft underbelly last year, that’s quite the trait. It’s the makings of a champion side.

Crucially, they’re peaking at the right time too. Williams is back and hasn’t missed a step, scoring a great solo try and playing a hand in several others too. Ewan Irwin is playing well beyond his years, the pack is playing with authority and they’re sharp on the edges too.

Warrington are contenders; make no mistake about that.

Hull KR won’t make Grand Final

The same cannot be said for Hull KR.

The defending champions, quite simply, do not have the panache and intensity they had last year.

They too have overcome their lowest ebb of the season but even in this game, they were not at the levels we came to expect last year.

They’ve played catch-up all year due to a slow start, and while they have gone on winning runs, they’ve just not done it when the big games have come.

They’ve been well beaten, twice, by both Leeds and Warrington. Wakefield have done the double over them. Their only win against any of the top five so far was against Wigan’s reserves before the Challenge Cup Final.

There is absolutely no evidence that Rovers can win a Grand Final, or even make Old Trafford, at this stage of the season.

Mikey Lewis returned here, and he is inevitably integral to their hopes. He scored, but he also kicked out on the full twice and was sin-binned for dangerous contact.

Every time Rovers have felt like they’re finding form or getting back to themselves, there is a step back. They do not have a long time now to find a solution to that, and there’s not much to suggest they will, either.

Effort wasn’t lacking here, and that has been questioned at times. Nobody could doubt their fight here, but there are too many major errors and moments of defensive fragility to consider them genuine contenders right now.

Time will tell on both fronts, but it’s Warrington, not Rovers, who look like going deep into the play-offs right now.