Hull KR suffered their first back-to-back defeats in 16 months following a 28-10 loss to Leigh Leopards, and one word summed up the Robins’ afternoon: chaos.
Rovers went into the clash without reigning Man of Steel Mikey Lewis, who was sidelined under head injury protocols. Danny Richardson stepped in to partner Tyrone May in the halves, but the former St Helens youngster was forced off after just 16 minutes with an ankle injury – despite initially trying to play through the pain at Leigh Sports Village.
What followed was a major squad reshuffle that Hull KR never fully recovered from. Head coach Willie Peters later admitted it was a game of “chaos” – and his side struggled to manage it.
Jez Litten replaced Richardson, with Michael McIlorum still on the field at hooker. Litten eventually took over at nine, with Peta Hiku slotting into the halves. James Batchelor went to the centres, with Dean Hadley also showing his versatility from the bench.
Things went from bad to worse late in the game. With Leigh leading 24-10, both Litten and Tom Davies were left bloodied after an incident on the 70th minute, requiring head injury assessments. Litten failed his assessment and, to add insult to injury, was sin-binned as he left the field. As a result, McIlorum – his replacement – had to serve the 10-minutes in the bin.
The disruption clearly impacted Rovers, with the loss of Richardson proving pivotal.
Despite the setback, Peters refused to make excuses, instead praising Leigh for a strong six-try performance – their first win over Hull KR since the 2023 Challenge Cup Final.
Post-match, Peters said: “It was [a tough afternoon] and we knew it would be. We had a couple of HIAs, and losing Danny Richardson, it looks like an ankle injury and people moving around. It was tough in that aspect, but we knew what Leigh would bring and full credit to them, they deserved the win.
“There was chaos, and we needed to handle chaos. Everyone is accountable to that.
“We pride ourselves on being able to handle chaos. We probably didn’t handle it as well as we could and should, so it’s something we want to have a look at.
“I think we’ve shown that we can handle it previously. We’ve played in some huge games already this year and handled players out of position.
“We’ve done it before. But this game, as I said, you want to be better within and how we can improve.
“We train for chaotic, and put players in similar situations and we handle it. It’s one of those days, and Leigh deserved to win. It’s the peaks and valleys of a Super League season.”
While a disappointing day for Hull KR – now just two points ahead of Wigan on the Super League table – they have a run of three matches against teams outside the top six to regroup and rebuild momentum. That begins next Saturday with a trip to Catalans Dragons.