Lawton has impressed in recent weeks after a difficult start to life at Hull KR
Hull KR’s Karl Lawton(Image: SW Pix)
Hull KR utility man Karl Lawton admits he struggled to adapt to Super League at first but he’s found his feet now.
Lawton has made 20 appearances for the Robins this season with his time in the side being split between hooker and various forward positions. His role is an important one under Willie Peters with Lawton giving the head coach the ability to spell key men such as Jez Litten and Elliot Minchella, while Lawton has managed to make his own presence felt, too, particularly in the last couple of weeks.
Indeed, it’s clear that Lawton has settled into a groove at Craven Park, even if he has been asked to play various positions, but that hasn’t always been the case.
“I try and be a seven out of 10 every week if I can,” Lawton said when asked to assess his season so far in red and white. “I try and work hard, do the little jobs right.
“At the start of the season we travelled away, played the World Club Challenge and I thought I started a bit slower than I expected while just trying to understand the style of the game.
“Now I’ve found my feet and you start to get a feel of how the Super League game is compared to the NRL, it’s a bit different. But I think I’m going pretty good.
“It’s not a like for like game, it is quite different. The tiny rules like the downtown rule, the reffing, things like that are quite different and obviously just takes a bit of time to get used to.”
Lawton has helped Rovers to two wins from their last two and they’ll be looking for a third win on the spin this evening when they take on Castleford Tigers at Wheldon Road.
The current run came on the back of a spell in which KR lost their way. The east Hull outfit lost three out of four games in a run which saw them slip out of League Leaders’ Shield contention and surrender their spot in the play-offs altogether at one point.
Rovers have bounced back up to fifth now though with improved performances yielding the points they’ve craved.
“I think we’ve just been able to hold the ball a bit more,” Lawton said on the turnaround. “We’ve had a bit more control and discipline. I think all those little things stuck out and eventually it pays dividends in the end run.
“I think it comes from everyone, the group, the coaches, leadership. I think everyone has their say and we’ve all collectively agreed that it probably hasn’t been good enough lately and we’ve turned that around.”