Lawton scored twice for KR on Thursday night against Castleford Tigers
Picture by Olly Hassell/SWpix.com – 30/04/2026 – Rugby League – Betfred Super League Round 10 – Hull KR v Castleford Tigers – Sewell Group Craven Park, Hull, England – Renouf Atoni of Castleford fails to stop Karl Lawton of Hull KR from scoring a try
Karl Lawton is still building his way into this Hull KR team but Willie Peters is pleased with the progress he is making.
Lawton signed for last season’s treble winners in December and was immediately given the unenviable task of trying to force his way into all-conquering Robins team. His versatility helps there, with the Australian able to play a number of positions and he has done that over his first few months at KR already, with spells coming at hooker, back-row and loose-forward.
However, he hasn’t been able to nail down one single position and his time on the field has often been limited because of that.
The Australian was given the opportunity to start at hooker on Thursday night though, and he took it with both hands as he scored twice in the dominant win over Castleford Tigers.
Scooting around ruck on both occasions, Lawton demonstrated his deception and eye for an opening as he got KR rolling towards a 50-6 victory.
Ultimately he was replaced by Jez Litten after about 25 minutes before returning to play through the middle in the final quarter of the contest and Peters believes he has a big role to play moving forward in what can be a dominant hooker unit.
“To come into the side it’s difficult for anyone off the back of the success the team has had last year and he played his role in the World Club Challenge,” Peters said on the former North Queensland Cowboys man. “He plays a number of positions and I just felt his experience and I wanted him to bring a bit of energy, similar to what Micky McIlorum did last year for us.
“He’s capable of scoring those tries, he’s a big body and I was pleased for him. The other pleasing part is we have Bill Leyland, he’s going on loan this weekend but he’s improving all the time now so we have three very handy hookers that we can use just depending on the game and who we think is best suited.
“Jez is a main hooker and the other players are aware of that at this stage, he’s the England number nine but Lawto did his job tonight, that’s for sure.”