Hull Kingston Rovers set to face Catalans Dragons for the third time this season

Hull Kingston Rovers play Catalans Dragons for the second consecutive fixture this Monday at the KCOM Lightstream Stadium.

Rovers have not played a scheduled game since mid-June after a COVID affected campaign, and will play only their twelfth fixture this season on Monday and their third against the Dragons.

After racing into a lead last week in the South of France in their hastily arranged fixture in the wake of the St Helens cancellation, the lack of match sharpness cost Rovers as they eventually lost 32-30 to the current League leaders.

Catalans are in superb form and currently sit at the summit of the table with a 93.33% win ratio and 14 wins out of 15, an incredible season so far for Steve McNamara’s men.

Incredibly, a quarter of Rovers’ games will have come against the Dragons after this fixture and Tony Smith will be hoping it’s third time lucky for the Robins on Monday.

Head to Head

Catalans Dragons have won the last three meetings between the clubs, with the most recent being the 32-30 win last weekend. Before that, the Dragons pipped Rovers by a single point on the opening day of the season back in March. Rovers started well last week and will consider themselves unlucky to not have taken two points back to East Hull. This week, Tony Smith’s men will be looking to go one better to restart their season.

Rovers have played the least of all teams in Super League this year, with only 11 games played. With the RFL stating that teams must have played 18 games to qualify for the playoffs, Rovers have an uphill struggle, playing two fixtures a week will surely start to take its toll on Tony Smith’s side.

Team News

Hull KR name almost the same squad they did last weekend, with Jimmy Keinhorst and Mike Lewis the only omissions. Keinhorst has joined Castleford Tigers on a two-week loan deal, while Lewis is at York on a game-by-game loan deal.

Hull KR squad:

Adam Quinlan

Ben Crooks

Greg Minikin

Shaun Kenny-Dowall

Ryan Hall

Jordan Abdull

Albert Vete

Matt Parcell

Korbin Sims

Brad Takairangi

Kane Linnett

Dean Hadley

Jez Litten

George Lawler

George King

Matty Storton

Rowan Milnes

Will Maher

Luis Johnson

Muizz Mustapha

Unavailable: Elliot Minchella, Ethan Ryan, Jimmy Keinhorst, Mikey Lewis.

Catalans will be buoyed by the news that Mickael Goudemand has signed a new contract with the French club. The 25-year-old French international is now tied to the current Super League leaders until the end of the 2023 season and is a key figure in the side that have now won 11 straight games.

Catalans Dragons squad:

Arthur MOURGUE

Samisoni LANGI

Dean WHARE

Fouad YAHA

James MALONEY

Josh DRINKWATER

Gil DUDSON

Micky McILORUM

Mike McMEEKEN

Alrix DA COSTA

Benjamin JULLIEN