17 September 2023 , 09:02
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Departing Aussie Brad Schneider ran the show as gutsy Hull KR booked their Super League play-offs spot with a round to spare.
It was announced this week the stand-off - a Robins cult hero since joining from Canberra in July - will link up with NRL champions Penrith in 2024. But after falling just short in the Challenge Cup final, Schneider made sure he still has chance of going out a winner after unpicking Salford in a hard-earned 12-0 success. He had a hand in both tries for James Batchelor and Ryan Hall as well as kicking Red Devils to pieces in a tense affair.
Willie Peters’ side, who have won four of their last five games since their agonising Golden Point Wembley loss to Leigh, have secured fifth spot at least and will definitely play Leigh in an eliminator. It's just to be deciced where. Depending on points difference, they could grab fourth - and a home play-off - from Leigh if they win at relegated Wakefield on Friday and Leopards lose versus table-topping Wigan. Either way they get chance to gain revenge for that Wembley heartache.
Peters said: “Making the play-offs after reaching Wembley is a really great achievement for the club. It was a gritty win. It wasn’t pretty but defend like that and we’ll put ourselves in every game.”
Seventh-placed Salford now need to beat Catalans - who are chasing the League Leaders’ Shield - and hope sixth-placed Warrington slip up at Huddersfield in next week’s final round to make the play-offs themselves. But they will be kicking themselves. Salford forced FOUR goalline drop-outs in the first half alone but couldn’t turn any into points. Paul Rowley’s side kept coughing up the ball or being denied by a well-drilled KR defence. When Sam Stone spilled Salford’s third drop-out, the hosts ended an intense period of pressure on their own line by surging up the other end to open the scoring in the 22nd minute.
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It was a quality try. Schneider dummied on halfway and arced through. He found Tom Opacic with a wonderful inside pass before Batchelor motored up to finish, Schneider converting. It certainly helped get Schneider off the hook. He had bombed KR’s biggest other chance with a glaring spill in the sixth minute after Kane Linnett and Shaun Kenny-Dowall - the iconic captain also potentially playing his last game at Craven Park - had splintered the Salford defence.
Matt Parcell had an effort ruled out after Kenny-Dowall knocked Mikey Lewis’ high kick forward. But Salford also had one chalked off after ex-KR star Danny Addy made a brilliant run only to pass forward to Ollie Partington. Livewire scrum-half Lewis made a lightning 60m break but was collared by Salford full-back Ryan Brierley.
Hull KR's Shaun Kenny-Dowell speaks to fans after victory over Salford (Matthew Merrick/SWpix.com)The visitors, though, were reduced to 12 men when prop King Vuniyayawa needlessly smashed dummy-runner Jack Walker off the ball in the 32nd minute. Rovers went in 6-0 ahead at the break but couldn’t capitalise when their opponents were a man down. They missed another chance, too, when Parcell weaved through from dummy-half but spilled stretching for the line in the 52nd minute.
Joe Burgess escaped down the left touchline for Salford but Opacic and Louis Senior did brilliantly to get him into touch. Schneider’s penalty after Partington’s high shot on Lewis edged KR further in front but it needed a brilliant try-saving tackle from Brierley to deny Lewis in the 67th minute. However, after Schneider forced a drop-out, it was his long pass, brilliantly flicked on by Jack Walker, that saw England winger Ryan Hall storm in at the corner five minutes later to seal the win.
Rowley said: “We weren’t polished enough in attack. We got some opportunities on the edges we didn’t quite nail and execute as well as we’d like. There was loads of intent in defence. We came to play. It was a really tough game. We forced a lot of errors on KR and that was pleasing.
“We showed lot of energy. We’ve had a lot of illness in the camp this week and only had one training session but that wasn’t a focal point for us. “We can only do what we can do: patch ourselves up as quickly as possible and prepare to put our best foot forward against Catalans. We’re at home. We’ll look forward to it.”