Brad Schneider’s late heroics take Hull KR to Wembley

Hull KR march onto the Challenge Cup final after downing the defending champions Wigan Warriors 11-10 in a thriller at Headingley.

New arrival Brad Schneider cements himself in Hull KR folklore as he repeats his late heroics from last week by slotting a drop goal to take his new employers back to Wembley for the first time since 2015.

Both teams had already won at Headingley this season. Wigan downed the Rhinos on their way to the semi-finals, and Hull KR toppled Leeds here in golden point last week, but who would leave Leeds victorious this week?

Just before kick-off, Rovers took a heavy blow as Ryan Hall withdrew from the side. This lead to a reshuffle in their backline, with Ethan Ryan moving onto the wing and Mikey Lewis moved from the bench to start at fullback.

Wigan started the better of the two. An early mistake from Louis Senior gifted the Cherry and Whites possession in the 10 meter, but a sloppy pass from Harry Smith cost them a good chance to get on the board in the first three minutes.  A sustained period of pressure followed for the Warriors, however the Robins would break the deadlock.

A mistake from Jai Field gifted Hull KR the ball in Wigan territory. From the following scrum a lovely play through the backs got the ball out to Senior, who made up for his early mistake to give the East Yorkshire side the lead.

Field would also make up for his earlier error, as he sliced open the Hull KR defence to score. A nice play through the Wigan attack saw Bevan French find his partner in crime to scamper over and pull the sides level. Harry Smith slotted the kick and Wigan found themselves in front.

The next try felt crucial, and the Robins would come closest. An interception from Shaun Kenny-Dowall turned defence into attack in the blink of an eye and started a sustained period of pressure from Willie Peters side. Wigan errors gifted Hull sets in enemy territory but they couldn’t convert these into points. Could this come back to haunt the Rovers?

Wigan got an easy get out card as Hull KR knocked the ball on, and then back to back penalties found Harry Smith with a chance to extend the Cherry and Whites lead at the break, which he took to give them a four point lead going into the sheds.

The Warriors got off to the worst possible start. Joe Shorrocks was sent for an early bath following a high tackle on Mikey Lewis. Wigan are no strangers to playing with 12 men though, after all they beat Warrington in the last round with 12 on the field; but would the same happen again?

The red card seemed to energise the Warriors. They dominated the next 10 minutes, and earned the reward as Harry Smith added two more points, but it could have been more. French and Kenny-Dowall collided as they went for the ball in the in-goal area, which earned the penalty and saw the Rovers captain sent to the sin-bin, but no try was awarded.

Hull KR were starved of possession for the early period in the half, but they eventually got a foothold in the game. They had plenty of chances, but would come up short on two occasions.

They would eventually get the break through their pressure deserved though, as Ethan Ryan slid over in the corner following great work from Brad Schneider. Schneider was on hand to slot the tricky kick to pull the scores level. This try brought the 9000 strong Hull KR fans back into full voice, and it felt like a momentum shifter in the contest.

Wigan could easily have been taken down to 11 men, as Abbas Miski put in a high tackle on Tom Opacic; however it was only deemed a penalty, but this only fuelled the tension in the tie.

More controversy followed as Wigan forced a goal line dropout, but replays seemed to show a Wigan player had interferred in the build up. This set the Warriors up perfectly for the drop goal, but French wasn’t able to execute. Could the Robins work themselves into a position to win it?

The Robins worked the ball down to a great position, however it would be their turn to miss an opportunity to secure their place at Wembley as Brad Schneider knocked the ball on. The scores remained level and we were destined for Golden Point.

As was the case last week, Brad Schneider was the hero in Golden Point as he slotted the drop goal to take his new side to Wembley to face the Leopards.

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