Hull KR’s unbeaten start to the season was under threat as a
winless Salford Red Devils rolled into town looking to give their season a kick-start
after a tumultuous opening couple of rounds which had seen them concede one
hundred and fourteen points while registering just a single converted try.
Hull KR would spend the night at the top of the table if
they could delight their passionate supporters with another victory, and with
expectations high of another Grand Final in 2025 they would settle for nothing
less.
Both sides made a couple of lineup changes ahead of the
fixture, the most notable being the Robins loss of talisman Mikey Lewis, with
Salford hoping that they could reproduce the outcome of the round three game in
2024 when they won by 17-10.
Jayden Nikorima lasted a minute before being sin-binned for
a high tackle of Niall Evalds which saw the KR full back helped from the field
for a head impact assessment. The twelve men were punished a minute later when
Kelepi Tanginoa took a short pass and shrugged off three tackles to score from
ten metres out, woeful Red Devils defence at fault. Rhyse Martin added the
conversion for a 6-0 lead.
The second try came on seven minutes, Oliver Gildart
exploiting space down the left wing off fast hands in the build-up. Martin was
unable to add the extras, but KR were scoring at more than the coveted point a
minute. Salford were having another nightmare.
The right wing was exploited
for the third try with Tom Davies finding too much space to run through a non-existent
Salford defence and dive over by the corner flag. With Martin off the field
with an injury, Danny Richardson took over kicking duties and hit the touchline
conversion between the uprights.
A Salford ball steal ten from the line gave Richardson a
second two-pointer of the night and on twenty-seven an off the ball challenge
gifted a third to extend the lead to 20-0.
Four minutes after the restart the home side extended their
lead, Jack Broadbent coasting through a gap in the Salford defensive line to go
over from twenty metres out to inflict further pain on the visitors.
A quick switch play, straight from the training ground, gave
Jai Whitbread the chance to stretch for the line and ground. Richardson missed
his first goal chance of the night, Hull KR on thirty unanswered points.
As the hour mark approached, KR for yet another unanswered
try, Whitbread taking a short pass from Jez Litten to score from five metres
out. Richardson’s boot made it 36-0, KR devastating, Salford with nothing in
defence.
Chris Hill was sin-binned on sixty-five for repeated
infringements at the play-the-ball, Salford even deeper in the mire.
An outrageous dummy, bought by Salford, allowed Litten to
get his well-deserved try as he stepped out of a tackle and stretched for the
line.
This was as comprehensive a win as you are likely to see.
Salford never got a look-in and never really looked like scoring. KR were great
in defence on the occasions when it was needed, but they were few and far
between as they spent most of their time on attack. Three wins at the start of
the campaign for KR, the Red Devils in all sorts of strife and anchored to the
bottom, the hangover from that first week massacre by St Helens seeming a very difficult
one to shake off.
Hull KR: Evalds, Davies (T), Broadbent (T), Gildart (T),
Burgess, Hiku, Richardson (G 6/7), Sue, McIlorum, Waerea-Hargreaves, Martin (G
1/2), Batchelor, Minchella. Subs: Litten
(T), Hadley, Whitbread (2T), Tanginoa (T). 18th Man: Luckley.
Salford Red Devils: Brierley, Cross, Marsters, Lafai, MacDonald,
Nikorima (SB on 1), Sneyd, Singleton, Atkin, Ormondroyd, Wright, Watkins, Hill
(SB on 65). Subs: Hankinson, Chan, Bullock, Sangare. 18th Man: Morgan.
Half-Time: 20-0.
Full-Time: 42-0.
Score Progression: (SB), 4-0, 6-0, 10-0, 14-0, 16-0, 18-0, 20-0
: HT: 24-0, 26-0, 30-0, 34-0, 36-0, (SB), 40-0, 42-0 :FT.
Lead Exchanges: Hull KR.
Referee: Aaron Moore.
