Hull KR 18-4 Hull FC: Robins on verge of clinching League Leaders' Shield following derby victory
Hull KR edge closer to clinching League Leaders' Shield after fiery derby win; only a huge swing can deny Robins top spot in the Betfred Super League; watch every Super League match live on Sky Sports
Last Updated: 08/09/25 4:00pm
Hull KR all but wrapped up their first League Leaders' Shield as three second-half tries secured a hard-earned 18-4 win over city rivals Hull FC at Craven Park.
Jez Litten ended a period of frustration for the hosts when he burrowed over shortly after the break, and further efforts from Jack Broadbent and Tom Davies made it all but mathematically certain that Rovers will end the regular Betfred Super League season in top spot.
Only if they lose their last two games, coupled with two wins for Wigan and a swing of over 100 points in the process, will Willie Peters' men be denied a position they have held for much of the season.
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Ironically the injury-hit visitors, who added talismanic prop Herman Ese'ese to their growing list of absentees last week, must now hope for a favour from the Robins if they are to join Rovers in the play-offs.
John Cartwright's men sit one point behind Wakefield, who occupy the final play-off spot, with two games to go, and with Trinity facing crisis-club Salford on the final day, FC realistically need Rovers to win at Belle Vue next week to give them a chance.
A pre-match downpour and a swirling wind ensured the on-pitch action would seldom match the atmosphere off it with only an early try from Noah Booth separating the two sides at half-time.
Booth sailed over in the corner after fine persistence in the build-up from Litten, and Mikey Lewis looked to have extended their advantage just past the half-hour mark when he galloped the length of the field only to be hauled back for a knock-on in the build-up.
The Black and Whites were offering little in response, but Arthur Mourgue carelessly kicked two penalties wide and Rovers were wobbling towards the interval when Zak Hardaker fumbled a kick through from captain Aidan Sezer.
Rovers' inability to get over the line looked like it might become an issue until Yusuf Aydin's careless tackle on Mourgue gave Rovers a numerical advantage.
They immediately capitalised when the superb Litten crashed over from the play-the-ball, and despite a yellow for captain Elliot Minchella, Rovers moved closer when Broadbent twisted over in a carbon-copy effort on the hour.
Tom Briscoe broke the deadlock for the Black and Whites when he dropped over in the corner with eight minutes left, but Tyrone May's exquisite lofted pass to Davies put the winger over in the corner and FC, for whom Jordan Rapana was sin-binned at the death, were done.
Peters: Hull KR got there in the end
Hull KR head coach Willie Peters told Sky Sports: "It was tough, we knew it would be. We made it tough for ourselves with incompletions and errors, but we knew what kind of Hull FC team would turn up. It wasn't a great game as a spectacle, but we got there in the end.
"We were more composed in the second half, but there were still moments where we had some errors that hurt us. We conceded just one try but, overall, it was scrappy."
'Frustrating first half... dumb errors in the second'
Hull FC head coach John Cartwright speaking to Sky Sports: "It was very frustrating, especially in the first half where we couldn't seem to get out of our own half. They got the jump on us, and we struggled to get field position.
"I'm really proud of the players' effort though, they never gave up and they got the try in the end to give us a bit of an opportunity, but there were some dumb errors in the second half."
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