That noise you have been hearing over the past few weeks, which only seems to be getting louder? It is the noise of the tectonic plates in Super League beginning to shift from one side of the Pennines to the other.
For the last six or seven years, it has been Wigan and St Helens who have held the Super League title with a vice-like grip. There have been contenders, challengers even: but when the chips are down, it is usually the Warriors or the Saints holding the trophy aloft at Old Trafford every October.
But now, 20 years on from the last first-time winner of Super League, it is starting to feel like we may have a new champion on the cards in the shape of Hull KR. Of course, this could all go wrong in the only six weeks of the year which really matter: just ask Huddersfield, Castleford or Warrington – all Super League table-toppers in the past, but failed to win the big one.
Every week, we begin to wonder when the Robins will start to falter. Here, against a Salford side in fourth and hoping to reach the Grand Final themselves, that question was asked again. And once again, Rovers answered it emphatically with a destructive display which moves them to within just three wins of a first major trophy in almost 40 years.
The biggest prize of them all will be won at Old Trafford in mid-October but for a side without a piece of silverware since 1985, the prospect of finishing top of Super League and claiming the League Leader’s Shield cannot be diminished for this club. This is a club who finished bottom of Super League in 2020, spared only by the demise of Toronto Wolfpack and Covid-19. Since then, they have risen to this point, on the verge of history – and with arguably the competition’s most exciting player at the heart of it all. Mikey Lewis has risen with Hull KR; a player in their academy who didn’t make much of an impression, but is now a genuine superstar rugby league’s powerbrokers should market from the rooftops.
His try here, a wonderful solo effort when he bamboozled his way through the Salford defence to make it 16-6, was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to his display of brilliance. “His growth in the past year and a half has been huge,” Rovers’ coach, Willie Peters, said. “He’s only going to keep growing. He’s handling himself really well.”
Lewis was instrumental in helping Rovers establish a 20-6 half-time lead which they never looked likely to surrender. Jack Broadbent’s early try put Rovers ahead, before Salford replied through Joe Mellor: but after that, Lewis took control. His wonderful 40-20 gave the hosts the platform to go back ahead through Jai Whitbread, before his moment of brilliance.
It brought a euphoric roar from the sold-out Craven Park crowd, who must now surely believe they are on the verge of something many thought they would never see when they were languishing in the Championship just a few years ago. They went further ahead before the break too, as Broadbent claimed his second, with Lewis again heavily involved.
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Salford had a significant off-night by their usually high standards, and when Tom Opacic scored to extend Rovers’ lead, the night became about damage limitation for them. They did score a late consolation through Nene Macdonald but this was Rovers’ night, without question. History is now within their grasp.
