BY JOHN DAVIDSON
TO MANY in Super League in 2021, Hull KR were the darlings of the competition.
Tipped to be fighting against relegation, as they have for many seasons, the Robins shocked and delighted by finishing sixth on the table and surprisingly reaching the semi-finals.
Tony Smith’s men then knocked off Warrington away in the playoffs and were just one more win away from a spot in the grand final, before falling to Catalans in Perpignan.
Playing a free-flowing style of footy where players were encouraged to chance their arm, they were dubbed Super League’s entertainers. A young and vibrant side, the boys from east Yorkshire won plenty of admirers.
After that fantastic 2021, expectations are high on what Hull KR might be able to achieve in 2022. Their fanbase is enthusiastic about the new season ahead.
But coach Smith, an experienced figure, insists his team has moved on and will not rest on their laurels as they approach a new campaign.
“Can we match last year or better it, who knows?” he told rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads.
“One thing I can’t do anything about is expectations, that’s out of our control except for our own.
“We can try and manage those and try and manage what we actually. What people outside of our organisation think, well we can do very little about that except go out and either change their opinions or back up their opinions – whatever way it goes.
“Last year was last year. We’re pleased and happy about much of what we did last year, and we did a full review of that at the end of the season and hopefully learned some lessons from it.
“But we’ve also moved on fairly quickly. We’re a new bunch this year, a new team, so we’ve got to find out what our limits or limitations are and hopefully find that they’re pretty high.
“Only time will tell on that. There’s no guarantees on anything. We have to start all over again and prove ourselves and probably prove ourselves to ourselves, to start with, which is probably what we did last year.
“We probably changed our expectations of ourselves as we went and that’s hopefully something we can do in a positive way this year as well.”
Able to recruit early, as opposed to in other years, the Robins have made few signings. Stability and long-term planning was the aim.
With several players joining from the Championship and League 1, the prized recruit in the off-season was the capture of star fullback Lachlan Coote from defending champions St Helens.
“We’ve had a few new faces and they’ve really settled in well to the group,” Smith explained.
“We’ve probably had a few little disruptions as well, our pre-season trip to Tenerife was postponed due to Covid restrictions.
“But the group has been really good at making adjustments. We’ve adapted well and made the best of our pre-season.”
The signing of Coote from Saints was an undoubted statement of intent from Hull KR.
The Australian has yet to play in Super League for his new club, but Smith describes the former Cowboys and Panthers custodian as “a class act”.
“He’s been excellent for us. He’s a calming influence, he’s not overly excitable.
“He’s got some of that ‘been there, done that’ without having to say that as well. He’s experienced plenty of situations so he brings that calming sense to training and to our team.
“We’re really delighted with the way he’s settled in. He’s great to work with.”
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