Sandercock praises new captain Galea

Correspondent

New Hull KR coach Craig Sandercock says it was a tough decision to pick Ben Galea as Rovers’ new captain.

Galea, 33, replaces Mick Vella, who retired at the end of last season.

Sandercock said: “It was a very, very close decision between Benny, Michael Dobson and Blake Green.

“All three of them have shown some outstanding leadership qualities since day one of pre-season training, but in the end Ben just got the nod because of his experience.

“He’s played on the winning team in an NRL Grand Final, he has the respect of all the other boys and that just tipped the balance in his favour. I took my time over making the decision because it’s a pretty important role in terms of being an extension of the coach on both the training field and on a game day. Benny is a very good player and a great professional and I’m sure he’ll do a terrific job.”

Galea is entering his fifth season at Craven Park, having joined the Rovers at the end of 2007 from Wests Tigers.

During his time in the NRL, he picked up a Grand Final winners ring, when the Tigers defeated North Queensland Cowboys in the 2005 final.