Robins fight well against Super League leaders but narrowly lose out at Craven Park

Hull Kingston Rovers fell to a 16-23 defeat at home to Super League table toppers Catalans Dragons, making it back-to-back defeats against the French outfit who have now won 12 consecutive league games.

After KR let a lead slip over in the south of France in their last fixture, they came up just short against an impressive Catalans outfit who were a tough nut to crack in defence. The game remained scoreless for a large part of the first half, with both defences showing excellent form to shut each other out.

But, after a cagey opening 25 minutes, the first points went to the Dragons as the ever-accurate James Maloney fired the ball through the posts with the boot to successfully convert a penalty and put his side 0-2 in front on the scoreboard.

That lead didn’t last long though, as Rovers hit back through Jordan Abdull with a penalty of their own just seven minutes later to level things up. A passionate KR faithful were unhappy with many of the decisions referee Robert Hicks made from the start, and they made their feelings known throughout, but that one went their way.

It took until just before the half-time hooter for the first try of the game, Romain Franco of the Dragons the player to score it in the midst of controversy with Rovers feeling that the pass to set up Franco had been a forward one. The man in the middle – Hicks – didn’t see it that way though and with a conversion from Maloney made to look a lot easier than it was, Catalans led by six.

KR did manage to cut that deficit to four with seconds of the first half remaining as Abdull again converted a penalty, and as the sides headed in at the break the scoreline read 4-8 in favour of the visitors. All of a Rovers persuasion were dismayed by some of the tactics used by the French side to slow things down and made that felt, but on the pitch, the Robins knew that they needed to score first in the second half to get themselves back into the game.

Unfortunately for them though, they they were dealt a blow when Samisoni Langi went over just five minutes after the restart. Maloney converted the kick again to extend the Dragons’ lead to 4-14, but less than ten minutes later, Rovers proved that they wouldn’t take defeat lying down with a try of their own.

Eventual man-of-the-match Adam Quinlan went over, with Jordan Abdull adding the extras to make it 10-14 and with circa 25 minutes remaining, KR were right back in it.

Then, with 67 minutes on the clock, Sam Tomkins got himself over the line and in all honesty, put the game beyond a Rovers side who had given their all. Maloney successful with the boot again, as he was in converting a penalty and then a drop goal shortly afterwards to push the scoreline to 10-23.

That reflected harshly on KR and had it finished that way, they would’ve felt hard done to, so they got what they deserved when Quinlan went over again five minutes before the end to make it an exciting finish to the game. Greg Minnikin was the man who orchestrated that try and Abdull added the extras to make it 16-23, which is how it finished come the sound of the final hooter.

Towards the end, the Robins were aided by some decisions, repeated penalties given against the Dragons and Sam Tomkins sent to the sin-bin for interference. Those events came too late to have an effect on the outcome though as the Dragons went twelve undefeated and proved once again that when they need to, they are able to dig in and secure victory under pressure.

Post-Match Reaction

KR head coach Tony Smith spoke of his player’s efforts with pride after the game, saying “We’re competing with the side at the top of the league and if we had lost to the best team when I first got here, we would have gone ‘well we had a good crack’,  there’s a different disappointment now.

“We go into each game thinking that we have a good chance. I can’t knock my boys’ efforts, they were terrific in many ways tonight. We conceded too easily and quickly last time out but we had more grit tonight. We held them out for long periods. We’re not perfect yet by a long shot, but every time I challenge them, they rise to it.”

Catalans head coach Steve McNamara was also impressed with his own side’s performance, saying “It was as good a win as we’ve had all season. After the heat in Perpignan on Thursday, and a full crowd today here, we came here with young boys in the team and did enough. I’m as proud of the group as I’ve been all season.

“We’ve got to get back [to France]and then get on with it. We come back again on Saturday to play Hull FC. There won’t be much training and there’s some bashed-up boys in the team but we’ll be ready.”

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