The results might not be glittering so far this season for Hull KR, but their left wing is protected for another year by one of the Super League’s all-time greats. Ryan Hall, the second highest try scorer in the competition’s history, has committed his future for until 2024 with the Robins.
He told the club’s website: “It’s great to get this news out and confirm what I”m doing next year. I still feel good.
“You don’t see many 35-year-old wingers knocking about, but my body feels good and I still feel like I can produce on the field.
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“I’ve really enjoyed the progression here at Hull KR. I think we’ve been making big strides that have helped us become a better team all around. I’ve enjoyed being a part of that and hopefully we can keep going on that same trajectory as a club and really achieve something.”
Hall is currently 17 years into his career, having spent the majority of it at Leeds Rhinos, scoring 233 tries in 330 games in all competitions. A short spell at the Sydney Roosters passed the time for a year until he returned to England and joined Hull KR in 2021, scoring 33 times in his 51 appearances so far.
The current Super League try scoring record belongs to another former-Leeds and Hull KR man, Danny Maguire. He scored 247 tries in an 18-year career between 2001 and 2019, and Hall is just 19 behind him, an achievable goal at his current strike rate, even if he doesn’t reach it this season.
Elsewhere in the Betfred Super League this weekend, the table received quite a shake-up at the top. Catalans' perfect record was shattered by Leeds, live on Channel 4, who came back from 22-8 at half-time to record a stunning 32-22 victory.
Catalans suffered two injuries during the game that might come back to bite them, since they prepare to welcome the league leaders in two weeks time, as well as a Castleford side desperate to find some points. Mickael Goudemand failed a head-injury assessment and Tyrone May limped off with a knee injury, so we’ll have to wait and see how Steven McNamara responds.
Warrington boss Daryl Powell returned to the Mend-a-Hose Jungle and hammered his former side Castleford Tigers in a 38-0 victory. The key moment that signalled the current state of affairs at Castleford came in the 17th minute, as full-back Greg Eden threw a loose pass towards his supporting teammates, but it ran errant, and Matty Russell pounced on it to double the lead. It was another miserable game for the Tigers, who now have just one win in their six games this season and have conceded 30+ points in four of those games.
![Matty Ashton capitalises on Greg Eden's error... [Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com]](/media/images/admin/rugby-league/sw_07_Castleford_v_Warringtonjpg.jpg)
Castleford’s stand-in coach Andy Last likely won’t be made permanent any time soon, but he’s doing the best he can with a squad that isn’t functioning to the sum of it’s parts at the moment.
The battle between third and fourth at the DW Stadium continued to show some concerns for fans of both Salford and Wigan, despite the quality of the game on show.
Salford largely dominated the game and the ball for the first hour, racking up a 16-8 scoreline with two tries from Ken Sio and Marc Sneyd having a great game from the kicking tee. However it seemed like Paul Rowley’s side ran out of steam, and the performances of key men Ryan Brierley and Brodie Croft were becoming ineffective as Wigan pressed on.
The tide turned thanks to a punt from Harry Smith, who got just enough on his kick to clear the receivers and provide Wigan with field position to force Salford to scramble around their own 20-metre line. Bevan French followed up his perfect first half try with a second after replacing Jai Field at full-back, and Field set-up Toby King with just eight minutes to go to win the game for Wigan.
There’s a feeling that Wigan must play better with huge clashes with Warrington and St Helens coming up soon, but perhaps a big game is needed to galvanise the squad and get back to dominating games with the same stylish attacking prowess they showed last season.
Across the borough, Leigh Leopards are giving themselves plenty to shout about as they added a third win to their collection this season against Hull FC. Josh Charnley grabbed his first hat-trick in leopard-print as they won 24-16 at the MKM Stadium. The winger now sits joint-top of the top try scorers list this season alongside Liam Marshall and Tom Johnstone.
Having seen Ryan Hall signed on for another year, Charnley might fancy himself to break the Super League try scoring record too, having just 17 tries less than Hall in his Super League career.
Tony Smith seemingly can’t catch a break, having left Hull KR for their city rivals last year, Hull FC now sit 10th ahead of Wakefield and Castleford. They’re not quite in the same situation as the two below, but Smith might need to take a leaf out of his nephew’s book and focus on building resilience and relationships in the squad, as well as looking at moving some of the older faces out of the squad.
Betfred Super League Results:
Huddersfield 12-14 St Helens
Wigan 20-16 Salford
Castleford 0-38 Warrington
Wakefield 6-34 Hull KR
Leeds 32-22 Catalans
Hull FC 16-24 Leigh
