The Robins take on Wakefield Trinity on Saturday at Craven Park
Hull KR’s Elliot Minchella thanks the fans and supporters after victory over Hull FC(Image: SW Pix)
Hull KR need to be better if they are to follow up on their Hull derby win by beating Wakefield Trinity on Saturday.
That’s the message from skipper Elliot Minchella after the Robins saw off Hull FC 26-12 at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium over the weekend.
The Robins didn’t have things all their own way in Merseyside and with around 20 minutes to go and the scores tied at 12-12, it was FC who were in the ascendancy and looked the more likely to get over the line.
However, a loose carry from Lewis Martin presented the opportunity for Jai Whitbread to score Rovers’ third of the game and they were never going to let that lead slip.
That gave KR the win they needed to get back on the horse, but with Wakefield, who handed Castleford Tigers a hiding on Sunday at Magic, travelling to Craven Park on Saturday, Rovers know they have to cleaner and more clinical in possession.
“A good win, a good result,” Minchella said after the game. “We needed to respond after last week [against Leeds Rhinos] to get the result, performance wise we needed a bit more polish in our attack but our effort, desire and passion was there in bucketloads. Pleasing. Onto the next game.
“We’re not getting carried away. We’re just focused on Wakefield next week so we’re not going to get carried away and start looking ahead.
“We respect Wakefield, they beat us a month ago so we need to be better than we was today. We’ll be hoping to beat them but we respect them as well.
“Massive respect for Wakefield for what they’ve done over the last 12-18 months, they’ve been great. Let’s not get too carried away, there’s work to do.”
The win was Rovers’ eighth in a row over their local rivals and that’s something KR take a lot of pride in.
“That’s really important to do for our community and especially our owner Neil, that one’s for him,” Minchella added.
“For a lot of years, and still now, a lot of our fans look at and pencil it in. There’s been a lot of losses before the eight in a row but it’s something we speak about and use it to fuel us and fire us up.
“It really is split, split households. It’s not lost on us, the importance of a derby win.”