Rovers build with Mason

Hull KR claimed their second win of the season as Willie Mason got his Engage Super League career off to a flier against Crusaders.

The former Australia forward capped his man-of-the-match performance with a hand in two of his side's seven tries in the 40-22 victory at New Craven Park.

Mason, who has been made to wait to make his Rovers debut due to visa delays, got his first taste of the action after just 34 seconds, carrying the ball for five metres before slipping out an offload.

Another offload from Mason then laid the platform for his side's opening score after six minutes, the 30-year-old's pass setting Shaun Briscoe free and, after Blake Green had also burst through, captain Ben Galea scored his fourth of the season.

Foxed

The Crusaders shipped eight tries at Hull last weekend and looked to be in a similarly generous mood here, none more so than when their defenders were foxed by Green's kick, allowing Craig Hall to put Scott Murrell in.

Mason's strength earned a 13th-minute penalty as the Crusaders right-side defence struggled to contain him, while it took a fine recovery tackle from Rovers centre Jake Webster to deny Rhys Williams a run to the line.

Better was still to come from Mason too, as, in the 17th minute, he side-stepped his way through the visiting defence before handing a pass inside for Liam Watts to finish under the posts.

Despite saying in the build-up that he would last the full 80, Mason was given a breather after an impressive 23-minute burst.

His departure took some energy out of the home attack and within minutes the Crusaders were on the board thanks to Stuart Reardon, after Hall had fumbled Michael Witt's kick.

Rovers remained the more dangerous of the two sides, though, and underlined their dominance with a fourth try a minute before the break, with Hall, who converted all four, taking a pass from Kris Welham before putting his centre back in.

Remarkable tackle

Crusaders prop Richard Moore produced a remarkable cover tackle to prevent Hall racing the length of the field minutes after the re-start, before Mason returned to the action with nine second-half minutes gone.

Clint Newton's delayed pass allowed Webster to end any doubt about the final outcome, with Green then shimmying his way over from close range for the try his individual display richly merited.

He deservedly got a glare from Mason too, when he failed to play the star attraction in for what would have been a walk-in score, before Galea shelled a chance to run the line of Mason's cut-out pass.

Jarrod Sammut jinked his way in for a consolation try for the Crusaders, his fifth of the season, and even when Peter Lupton and Reardon followed him in with scores in the corner, the end result remained in little doubt, especially after Welham broke away for his second of the afternoon.