Lewis shines as dominant Hull KR blank Leigh

Betfred Super League

Leigh Leopards (0) 0

Hull KR (10) 24

Tries: Hall, Lewis 2, Sue, Goals: Lewis 4

Mikey Lewis was at his imperious best as Hull KR kept alive their hopes of winning the Super League Leaders' Shield with a stylish victory away against fellow top-six rivals Leigh Leopards.

Two booming Lewis kicks and two brilliant chases by Tyrone May led to tries for winger Ryan Hall and Lewis as a breathless first half ended with the visitors 10-0 ahead.

Sauaso Sue crashed over for his sixth league try of the season within eight minutes of the restart.

And Lewis rounded off a hugely impressive individual and team display, going over from close range after some slick handling and exhibition-like interplay had kept the ball alive on the last tackle.

Leigh, who went into a pivotal penultimate round of fixtures knowing a sixth consecutive victory could have made certain of their own play-off spot, failed to make the most of their possession and drop to sixth in the table.

Adrian Lam’s side were guilty of too many handling errors and lacked the guile to break down a solid defence and now head into their final game against St Helens needing a win to guarantee a top-six finish.

Mikey Lewis scored two tries and a total of 16 points in a classy performance for Hull KR

The initial breakthrough came when Hall pounced for his 254th Super League try following a testing Lewis kick that was fumbled by full-back Matt Moylan.

And it was the same Hull KR combination that produced the second try through a very similar process. But this time there was a slightly different order.

Lewis once again boomed the ball skywards and May went all out in the chase to leap higher than Moylan for a second time and tap the ball back.

Hall gathered and released quickly to Lewis, who had followed up his own kick and was on hand to skip through a scattered defence and go over for his 18th try of the season.

Sue and Lewis, with his 19th try of the campaign after more great handling by Hall and May, made sure of the success after the break.

The visitors also got to the hooter without conceding a point with a ruthless defensive effort, meaning they will guarantee themselves a top-two spot and a home semi-final if they avoid defeat against Leeds Rhinos next Friday.

The only blemish on an otherwise near-perfect night for the Robins was a heavy collision involving Niall Evalds, which means he will miss the end of the regular season following a head injury assessment (HIA).

Leigh head coach Adrian Lam:

"We were there to play but we didn't really do what we decided to do as a team and I'm frustrated by that.

“They had some big plays leading up to half-time and once they get in front they are difficult to peg back.

"It's still in our hands; it might be good for us. We look at it that way, as a positive and we need a response.

"There's nothing better than being at home next week to make the top six."

Hull KR head coach Willie Peters told BBC Humberside:

"It was close to our best performance of the year.

"And the reason I say that is because it was off the back of what the players went through last week [defeat against Wigan]. It was a high-intensity game, and it was tonight.

"The players pushed through it. Leigh are a very good team and to keep a side like that to zero points is a huge effort; they are a very good team and ask a lot of questions.

"I'm really proud of the performance and the result, especially after last week.

"It was a tough game, and they are all tough from here on in. The players like to chase zeros and we got our reward."

Leigh Leopards: Moylan; Charnley, Leutele, Hanley, McIntosh; O'Brien, Lam; Amone, Davis, Mulhern, O'Donnell, Halton, Asiata.

Interchanges: Trout, Pene, Hughes, Dwyer.

Hull Kingston Rovers: Evalds; Burgess, Hiku, Gildart, Hall; May, Lewis; Sue, Parcell, Hadley, Storton, Batchelor, Minchella.

Interchanges: Opacic, Litten, Luckley, Brown.

Sin-bin: Minchella.