Monday 16 May 2016 13:12, UK
Hull KR coach James Webster praised his players for honouring Roger Millward in the perfect way with a 24-10 First Utility Super League win over Widnes Vikings.
Before the game tributes were paid to Millward, one of the finest players ever to play the game, who passed away at the age of 68 earlier this month.
Webster told his players to win for the club's former stand-off and they duly went out and did what was asked of them.
"We saw a fitting day for Roger," Webster said. "The game was probably similar to a cup final. We got to the ground earlier than normal and there was a long time waiting but I thought we handled it well.
"It was a tough day for all but it was a fitting tribute to an inspirational person. We trained on the pitch while supporters have laid flowers and their tributes.
"There are only a handful of players who get rewarded with that kind of tribute."
Tries from Shaun Lunt, Ken Sio, James Greenwood and Albert Kelly closed out a hard-fought game in the Robins' favour and Webster was content with the result.
"It was a scrappy game because of intent," Webster said. "Widnes came to play and I thought it was a physical encounter. It wasn't a classic, but it was two desperate teams who had a right go.
"The pleasing thing for me was the way we defended. They had long periods of time on our try line and I was confident we could hold out. Hopefully that continues to improve over the coming weeks."
Chances to win
Efforts from Gil Dudson and Corey Thompson failed to inspire Widnes and Vikings coach Denis Betts was left frustrated.
"We're very disappointed," Betts said. "We got caught up in the emotion before the game which was a fantastic tribute.
"We're hurting badly. The score suggests we didn't defend well but we had opportunities to win. We just have to find a way to turn misfortunes into wins because we just didn't have enough to do that.
"KR played with energy and had real purpose. Every game we play from now on is going to be like a cup final. We have put ourselves in a hole but nobody has really pulled away from us."
