Super League: Hull KR 12-0 Salford Red Devils - Robins edge tight game to book play-off spot

Ryan Hall made it 238 Super League tries with his clincher

Hull KR booked their Super League play-off place with victory over a Salford side who must win their final game to have a hope of joining them.

Rovers had the best of a bruising first 40, thanks to James Batchelor's scamper over after a break involving Brad Schneider and Tom Opacic.

Matt Parcell and Mikey Lewis failed to ground cleanly, keeping tensions high for KR as Salford rallied.

Ryan Hall crossed late to ensure Willie Peters' side were in the top six.

As befitting a game between two play-off hopefuls, this was ferocious fare at times, with defensive zeal prompting a string of thunderous hits.

Having lost in the Challenge Cup final, reaching the play-offs is another huge tick in the box of head coach Peters following his arrival at the club last winter.

He has given the Robins a chance of silverware on two fronts, and could finish higher than fifth if they get the right mix of results, with Leigh playing Wigan on the final weekend, when his side take on already-relegated Wakefield.

Schneider will be a Penrith player next season but again proved his worth to the Robins, bewitching the defence with a dummy which led to Batchelor cruising over.

Hall showed his power to bash over late on, in a game where the cold, wet conditions proved the enemy of handling and both sides made errors.

Salford reported an outbreak of a virus this week which ran through their squad, and could have been forgiven for feeling the pace given that drain on their energy.

They forced drop-outs and enjoyed field position in patches but were unable to execute the plays to break down the defence, largely down to Hull KR's excellent edge defence.

Ryan Brierley made a huge cover tackle to stop a breakaway Mikey Lewis in the first 40, while at the other end of the scale, King Vuniyayawa's brick-wall stop on Jack Walker off-the-ball resulted in a yellow card.

Brierley also made a huge contribution to halt Lewis in the second period, but in the event, they were kept scoreless and must now beat Catalans and hope Warrington slip up at Huddersfield next Friday to have any chance of making it to the knockout phases.

Hull KR: Walker; Senior, Opacic, Kenny-Dowall, Hall; Lewis, Schneider; Hadley, Parcell, King, Batchelor, Linnett, Minchella

Interchanges: Abdull, Sue, Kennedy, Luckley [Storton]

Salford: Brierley; Sio, Cross, Lafai, Burgess; Croft, Sneyd; Hellewell, Ackers, Ormondroyd, Watkins, Stone, Partington

Interchanges: Vuniyayawa, Atkin, Addy, Bourouh [Dixon]

Referee: Liam Moore.

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