Hull KR 46-22 Salford: Rovers end Super 8s Qualifiers unbeaten
Last Updated: 27/09/15 6:13pm
Hull KR scored 36 unanswered second-half points to finish the Super 8s Qualifiers unbeaten thanks to their 46-22 victory over Salford.
The visitors to the KC Lightstream Stadium built up a 22-10 lead through tries from Greg Johnson, Harrison Hansen, Lama Tasi and Ryan Lannon, but they crumbled after the break.
A six-try second-half blitz saw the Robins claim their seventh win from seven, with Josh Mantellato contributing 16 points with a try and six goals.
Salford stuck to their midweek guns and fielded academy products Jake Bibby and Lannon, while Rovers gave send-offs to Tyrone McCarthy and Greg Burke.
The most farewell, though, was for Kris Welham, who after almost 10 years of service departs for pastures new in 2016, and he received a guard of honour from both sides in the walk-out.
The Red Devils themselves said goodbye to a true great of rugby league in Adrian Morley, who was playing his final game.
Both sides had nothing but personal pride to play for, having already sealed their place in next season's Super League, but it was the visitors who made the better start.
Johnson finished superbly, stretching out and convincing referee Gareth Hewer of a clean touchdown. Tommy Lee missed the extras but Salford led 4-0 in as many minutes.
Salford were their own worst enemies, though, as Rovers bounced back with quickfire tries.
First, the departing Welham levelled the scores. Niall Evalds made a howler of Dane Chisholm's sky-high bomb, with the Red Devils penalised for offside seconds later. Welham managed to overcome Bibby to touch down.
Next, George Lawler pounced on a Dane Chisholm grubber to score on his home debut in a fantastic reward for the youngster. Mantellato booted a conversion for a 10-4 advantage, soon to be wiped off by a Red Devils response.
Hansen ghosted through weak Robins defence following Welham's spill from the restart, before Tasi crashed over in controversial circumstances, after Morley looked to be held up over the line before offloading.
Academy skipper Lannon was next over as he rounded off a brilliant spell from the visitors by collecting a crisp Logan Tomkins offload. Ben Jones-Bishop took over kicking duties to boot three for a 22-10 advantage.
Rovers needed a swift response and two tries in the opening 10 minutes of the second half levelled the scores yet again.
First, Mantellato's neat footwork down the touchline enabled a touchdown, before Ken Sio beat his opposing man in Salford colours to power over in the same corner.
The eye-catcher of the afternoon saw Chisholm scamper 85 metres downfield following a Reni Maitua spill close to his own line.
Better was still to come as exiting skipper McCarthy collected Chisholm's offload to reach out and put Rovers two scores in front.
Ben Cockayne scored under the posts, largely thanks to Sio's initial 75-metre break upfield, before Maurice Blair followed the same script. Huge cheers rang around for Welham's conversion to cap a memorable send-off.
