Hull Kingston Rovers secured a hard-fought 20-18 victory over Wakefield Trinity at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle, but the win was marred by a concerning injury to influential prop forward, Kane Lewis.
The Robins, looking to bounce back from last week’s defeat to Warrington, made a bright start, with Lewis crashing over for the opening try after just five minutes. The prop forward, who has been in impressive form this season, burst through the Wakefield defense, shrugging off several would-be tacklers to touch down.
However, Lewis’s afternoon was cut short when he suffered a worrying injury midway through the first half. The 25-year-old was stretchered off the field, putting no weight on his left leg, and was later seen leaving the stadium on crutches.
Hull KR coach, Willie Peters, admitted that the injury had taken the shine off the win. “It’s a big concern for us,” Peters said. “Kane is a key player for us, and to lose him like that is a big blow. We’ll have to wait and see how serious the injury is, but it didn’t look good.”
Despite the setback, Hull KR rallied to take a 12-0 lead into the interval, thanks to tries from Ryan Hall and Matt Parcell. Wakefield, however, refused to lie down, and they fought back to level the scores at 12-12 early in the second half.
The Robins regained the lead through a try from Jimmy Keinhorst, but Wakefield responded once more, with Liam Kay touching down to set up a thrilling finale.
In the end, it was Hull KR who emerged victorious, thanks to a late penalty from Jordan Abdull. The win moves the Robins up to fifth in the Super League table, but Peters knows that his side will have to improve if they are to make a serious push for the playoffs.
“We weren’t at our best today,” Peters admitted. “We made too many mistakes, and we gave Wakefield too many opportunities. But we showed some character to grind out the win, and that’s what matters.”
Wakefield coach, Mark Applegarth, was left to rue his side’s missed opportunities. “We had our chances, but we just couldn’t take them,” Applegarth said. “We showed some good spirit, but we need to be more clinical if we want to start winning games.”
The defeat leaves Wakefield rooted to the bottom of the Super League table, but Applegarth remains optimistic that his side can turn their season around. “We’re not giving up,” Applegarth said. “We’ll keep working hard, and we’ll keep believing that we can turn things around.”
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