Hull KR 28-34 Warrington Wolves: George Williams stars as Sam Burgess' side move two points off Super League top spot
Warrington Wolves' win puts them two points behind Leeds and Wigan; Mikey Lewis was sent to the sin bin on the return from his four-match ban for dangerous contact with kicker Ewan Irwin; round 24 of Super League continues on Thursday August 20, live on Sky Sports
Tuesday 18 August 2026 22:49, UK
Warrington Wolves sent a statement with a 34-28 win over Hull KR in their rearranged Super League round two match at Sewell Group Craven Park.
The match could not take place 22 rounds ago due to the Robins being in Las Vegas but the new allotted time seemed to suit Sam Burgess' side as they romped to a victory which puts them two points off top spot.
For the home side, the stand out point will be that Mikey Lewis returned from a four-game ban, in which they won all four matches, but then was sin-binned in a contest in which they were second best.
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The yellow card came for a dangerous contact with kicker Ewan Irwin, which Warrington head coach Sam Burgess described as "dangerous".
"I think the challenge at the back end of the game was a bad challenge. It is a bad challenge. He (Irwin) is very lucky he's come out of that healthy. He's a tough kid," Burgess said.
"I'm not trying to make it worse than it is.," he later added. "You just have to watch it. It's really dangerous.
In the NRL, you're going to be in a bit of trouble."
The Robins did have a 14-10 half-time lead thanks to a Rhyse Martin penalty plus converted Lewis and Karl Lawton tries.
Warrington went over through an unconverted Albert Hopoate effort and a James Bentley try, but were four points adrift.
But a dominant second half saw Toafofa Sipley, Liam Byrne, George Williams and Albert Hopoate all score, ensuring late tries from Dean Hadley and Tevita Pangai Jnr were sheer consolations, while Mikey Lewis was sin-binned on his return from suspension.
Wolves show play-off credentials
Hull KR took an early lead through the boot of Martin after Warrington conceded a penalty for a high shot on Frenchman Arthur Mourgue.
But the Robins started to make errors, twice dropping the ball and then conceding a penalty. Warrington slowly turned the screw and after forcing three repeat sets, they eventually scored the first try of the game as a sweeping move from left to right saw Hopoate squeeze home in the corner on 18 minutes.
Irwin couldn't convert, and it was the Wire who came up with errors for the next period. However, the hosts didn't punish them and when they eventually conceded a penalty for holding down, England captain Williams produced a crisp pass for Bentley to race on to and score from close range, Irwin tagging on the extras this time for a 10-2 lead.
But Rovers were ahead before the break. On his return from a four-match suspension, Lewis got himself on the scoresheet after being the first to react to Jez Litten's threaded kick to the in-goal, and a minute before the break Lawton barged over, with both tries converted by Mourgue.
That put Rovers 14-10 ahead, but Sam Burgess' side were ahead three minutes after the interval as powerhouse prop Sipley crashed over from a few meters out after Danny Walker's smart pass, with Irwin converting once again.
On 50 minutes, Mourgue brought the game level with a penalty goal, leaving the game evenly poised at a crucial period.
The game would soon be injected with further spice as a commotion saw players from both teams come together.
But the Robins lost their composure as Mourgue was penalised for a needless block on Walker while his team were coming away from their own try line. That allowed Irwin to kick a penalty goal to go two points ahead once again.
Immediately after that, Lewis kicked out on the full for the second time in the game and Warrington made the most of it once more, with Byrne smashing through the defensive line to score a converted try that extended the lead to eight points going into the final quarter.
From there, it was one-way traffic. The brilliant Williams got on the inside of Litten to score by the sticks, and he then produced a wonderful kick that was sublimely finished by Hopoate to add emphasis to the scoreline.
Hadley and Pangai Jr got late consolations for Rovers, but it was too little, too late.
Burgess: Scoreline doesn't reflect dominance
Player of the match George Williams told Sky Sports:
"For Mikey Lewis, he's a nice quiet lad, not how he plays. It's a fine line, and at the minute he's getting it wrong. But just put an arm around him.
"He's one of the best players in the comp."
Warrington Wolves head coach Sam Burgess:
"I'm happy and proud of the team. We didn't have it our way for parts of it.
"We'll reassess, but I'm proud of the spirit. This is a tough place to come.
"I'm proud of our effort and physicality.
"The scoreline didn't reflect the game in the first half, and it's fair to say it doesn't in the second half either. We were dominant in a lot of areas.
"Our collective effort, everyone did their jobs. We grew in the disruption."
Peters: Warrington didn't have to work for tries
Hull KR head coach Willie Peters to Sky Sports:
"Yeah it was a tough second half to watch.
"There were a lot of moments to like in that game, but a lot we won't want to watch back again. Just not good enough.
"It's disappointing and I'm disappointed with the tries we let in.
"Warrington are a very good team, I'm not taking anything away from them, but they didn't have to work for coming through the middle of us.
"We're a brave team, because it could have got worse, but obviously the game was gone by the end.
"I need to have a look at the Mikey Lewis incident. I don't know how bad it was."
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