Hull KR kept their unbeaten start to the season going with a 20-10 win over St Helens in round four of the Super League at the Totally Wicked Stadium to move top of the table and send a statement to the rest of the competition.
Saints and the Robins both entered the round-four clash following victories over the same three teams in Salford Red Devils, Castleford Tigers, and Wakefield Trinity but were ready for a bigger challenge as the 2024 Grand Finalists visited the four-time in a row champions.
It was a clash between two top-class outfits and the first half was just that, the visitors hitting through Mikey Lewis then a stunning Tom Davies flying finish, St Helens replying through a converted Curtis Sironen try as the match was finely poised at 10-4 in Hull KR’s favour.
The second half then saw Hull KR take control once again, Oliver Gildart scoring two efforts in two minutes down the left edge to give their side a 14-point advantage.
Hull KR’s Oliver Gildart scored back to back tries against St Helens to extend his team’s lead
St Helens managed to hit back through Jack Welsby but it was too little too late as they fell to their first defeat of 2025.
With the victory, Hull KR continue their best start to a season and have back-to back wins at St Helens for the first time in the post-war era.
Robins show why they are a threat for titles once again
Hull KR were well on top in the opening throes of the game, pinning St Helens in their own half, and they got their reward nine minutes in when a kick was allowed to bounce and Lewis went over to bring the score to 4-0.
Mikey Lewis opened the scoring for Hull KR after capitalising on a well worked kick
That continued to be the story of the first quarter, the Robins with 15 play the balls in the opposition half to Saints’ zero but the scoreboard did not change as the home outfit kept scrambling.
Tom Davies gave Hull KR the lead again against St Helens with an acrobatic try
St Helens finally got their time with ball in hand and got some momentum with it, 10 minutes of pressure resulting in a lovely grubber kick through from Welsby which was pounced on by Sironen in the corner, Mark Percival coming in clutch with the conversion to put Saints 6-4 in front.
Curtis Sironen ran onto a perfect Jack Welsby kick to equalise for St Helens against Hull KR
However, after Kyle Feldt gave away a contentious penalty for hands in at the play the ball, Davies struck with two minutes remaining with the most acrobatic of dives in the corner, the reigning man of steel converting to put the score 10-6 in favour of the visitors.
The second half then started in the same way as the first for Hull KR, with Gildart going over twice in two minutes, finishing off a Joe Burgess catch then a Burgess break down field to give Hull KR a 20-6 advantage with just under 30 minutes remaining.
Jack Welsby scored a late try to give St Helens a lifeline as they trail Hull KR
St Helens managed to regain some possession and territory but the Robins kept standing firm in defence until a big shot saw the Robins spill the ball and Welsby finish in the corner from the set that came from it, throwing the dummy and bringing the score to 20-10.
The home outfit kept trying but with the scoreline in their favour the Robins stood strong, Willie Peters’ side making it four wins in a row and are now the only side in the competition to have won every match so far.
‘Our best performance of 2025’ | Hull KR ‘managed the game better’
Hull KR head coach Willie Peters believes his team’s win over St Helens was their best performance of 2025
Hull KR head coach Willie Peters to Sky Sports:
“It’s a great milestone and achievement for the club [best start to a season since 1985]. We want to celebrate, not get carried away, but celebrate the wins along the way.
“I was really proud of the players tonight. What we did at the start set it up. I wanted more points, but we put fatigue into them and it played out.
“We should have been up two or three tries with the field-position we had, but we spoke at half-time and said if we put it back on them, we’d get our rewards.
“Overall, I’m really, really happy. But you can always get better.
“I think a lot clicked defensively and with our start. Coming here is always difficult. We kept the momentum for long periods.
“I think it’s our best performance of 2025. We performed well.”
St Helens head coach Paul Wellens believes his team played well in their loss to Hull KR but their opposition had better game management
St Helens head coach Paul Wellens told Sky Sports…
“I can’t fault our team in terms of the application and efforts. We were outstanding in that respect, particularly in the first 35 minutes when we absorbed a lot of pressure.
“Over the course of the game, their game-management was just slightly better than ours and that told on the night.
“We can learn some really valuable lessons from this.
“When you defend your own goal-line for prolonged periods, it obviously has an impact.
“We can manage certain moments in the game a little better. I’m delighted we got this type of game, just disappointed we’re on the wrong side of the result.”
Castleford pick up first win of season against crisis club Salford
Judah Rimbu’s late try heaped more misery on crisis club Salford and handed Castleford their first Super League win of the season at The Jungle.
Castleford Tigers picked up a much-needed victory as they beat a struggling Salford Red Devils
The visitors had hauled themselves level from Marc Sneyd’s penalty with five minutes to go, but Judah’s quick-thinking from dummy-half sent the hosts back in front, with two kicks from Tex Hoy confirming a 22-14 win.
Castleford’s late show took some of the sting out of the simmering controversy over Salford’s team selection after the Rugby Football League re-imposed a salary cap sanction this week due to the club’s failure to meet their February pay-roll.
The players were finally paid on the eve of the match, ending the very real threat of the game being postponed, but Salford’s remaining staff were still to receive their payments as of kick-off time, and rival Super League owners were left seeking clarification from the RFL about where the funds came from.
Kallum Watkins managed to get over the line for Salford
Salford had already received dispensation from the RFL to bring in three players – including star half-back Sneyd and captain Kallum Watkins – to replace a trio who were injured or suspended, a decision Castleford owner Martin Jepson had described as “unfair” in the build-up to the match.
Despite a strengthened squad for Salford they are now in crisis at the bottom of the Super League table, rooted on zero points.
Sky Sports will again show every game of the Super League live this season – including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining four matches each week shown on Sky Sports+.
