Super League: Hull KR 40-4 Salford Red Devils - Ruthless Rovers hammer struggling Reds
- Published
Ben Crooks (right) grabbed the second of Hull KR's five tries
Betfred Super League |
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Hull KR (16) 40 |
Tries: Lawler, Crooks, Takairangi, Kenny-Dowall, Parcell, Hall, Linnett Goals: Abdull 5, Milne |
Salford (4) 4 |
Try: Sio |
Brad Taikarangi grabbed his first Super League try as Hull KR hammered struggling Salford for their biggest win of the season.
The former NRL centre sped through to collect his own kick for the pick of Rovers' seven scores at Craven Park.
Ken Sio gave Salford a surprise lead, but Rovers looked unstoppable after Chris Atkin was controversially sin-binned in the 20th minute.
Pauli Pauli was sent off for Salford, who have now lost five in a row.
The visitors went ahead in the sixth minute as Tuimoala Lolohea unleashed a crafty grubber kick into the path of Sio, who scrambled over to mark his 200th career appearance with a try.
Salford continued to apply pressure and Rovers gave away a string of penalties, but the momentum shifted immediately when referee Chris Kendall yellow-carded Atkin for his last-ditch challenge as Matt Parcell burst clear.
The Robins took advantage, with Dean Hadley offloading for George Lawler to level under the posts and three minutes later Adam Quinlan set up Ben Crooks, who touched down one-handed in the corner.
But Salford were back at full strength by the time Taikarangi extended Rovers' lead, weaving his way past three opponents before racing onto his own precision kick to apply a clinical finish.
The Red Devils made a sloppy start to the second half, putting a goal-line drop-out on the full to present Jordan Abdull with a straightforward kick that made it 18-4.
Even when Quinlan was sin-binned for kicking the ball away as Sam Luckley tried to ground it, Salford were unable to capitalise, with the final pass frequently wayward.
The visitors crumbled during the final quarter, with Shaun Kenny-Dowall setting up the break and wriggling over from close range before Parcell bounced out of a tackle to add his name to the scoresheet.
Rampant Rovers cashed in as Super League's leading try-scorer Ryan Hall intercepted Atkin's pass and charged over for his 11th in nine games and Kane Linnett's solo run took them to the 40-point mark before Pauli's late hit on Abdull earned him a red card.
Hull KR: Lawler, Parcell, Maher, Linnett, Johnson, Hadley, Abdull, Milnes, Kenny-Dowall, Taikarangi, Crooks, Quinlan, Hall.
Interchanges: Sims, Litten, King, Storton.
Salford: Escare, Burgess, Sio, Davies, Williams, Lolohea, Atkin, Mossop, Ackers, Wells, Livett, Pauli Pauli, Taylor.
Interchanges: Burke, Luckley, Patton, Ikahihifo.
Referee: Chris Kendall (RFL)