Sandercock happy despite defeat

Hull KR coach Craig Sandercock was more than happy with his young side, despite them going down to a defeat against Featherstone on Sunday.

Of the Hull KR starters, only Sam Latus and Joel Clinton had real first team experience, while Scott Wheeldon, Graeme Horne, Liam Watts and Jason Netherton all got run outs off the bench.

Featherstone, who won 20-12, fielded a selection of players from their Championship winning side of last season, although they too were a few players short of being at full strength.

He told the club’s official website: “Obviously we didn’t get the win, which is what we came here for, but given that we had so many kids in the side I was pretty happy.

“I thought most of the young blokes did well but they need to be a bit more consistent across the 80 minutes as that’s what makes a good first team player.

“But all in all they showed some really good signs and the future looks pretty rosy. In saying that though, in the short-term they’re probably still not ready as some parts of their game need some hard work in order to get them to that next level.”

Hull KR scored tries through Chris Heil and James Green.

Focus now turns to their next friendly game, against Wigan at Craven Park on Sunday.