Rovers coach Tony Smith says injured prop "will be smiling for us"; Wakefield's Danny Brough could be out for season with ACL injury, fears Chris Chester
Saturday 1 February 2020 11:54, UK
Tony Smith dedicated Hull KR's 30-12 win over Wakefield in the opening game of the new Betfred Super League season to former player Mose Masoe.
The former Samoa international prop suffered a career-ending spinal injury against the same opponents earlier in the month.
Smith admitted he was delighted with the way his players opened their season in a victory which saw winger Ben Crooks score four tries on a windy night at Craven Park.
Smith said of Masoe: "He will be smiling for us. He sent us a lovely message earlier in the week. He's with us every week, he's part of us.
"He will be with us when we win, and he will be with us when we lose. Some of the spirit of Mose is always going to be there. We play with spirit and it can take you a long way."
In an error-strewn match which saw both sides make numerous mistakes, Smith paid tribute to his team's defence.
He said: "I liked the defence we came up with. We're disappointed we let in one soft try, a dummy-half try. I thought our goal-line defence was pretty good.
"They made a lot of errors, we made a lot of errors. A few stray passes. It was tough to play rugby league, it was windy. It's really hard to play when you've got the wind behind you, the ball floats away from you."
Smith added: "Crooks has come up with four tries and that is something special and I'm pleased about that. Some boys stepped up and they are finding out how good they can be."
Greg Minikin also touched down for Rovers, with Jamie Ellis concerting three of the home side's tries.
Wakefield's points came through tries by Joe Westerman and Josh Wood, with the extras coming from Danny Brough and Ryan Hampshire.
Chris Chester revealed Brough had potentially suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in the first half which could rule him out for the entire season.
The Wakefield coach said: "It's potentially an ACL. He did it at the back of the first half. He thought he could run if off."
Losing his influential scrum-half would be a big blow to Chester but the Wakefield coach tried to put on a brave face.
He said: "We have just got to get on with it. We can't feel sorry for ourselves.
"It's not great for Broughy but it certainly looks like an ACL. I'm really disappointed for Broughy who has been great in pre-season and was looking in great shape."
Chester could not hide his disappointment over his side's error-filled performance.
He said: "(I was) very disappointed in the effort of some individuals tonight. I thought we just got outmuscled.
"I was disappointed with the errors, 16 errors, you can't win any games playing like that.
"Guys were just probably trying too hard, guys just making stuff up. It looked like we were a group of players just thrown together. We need to be a lot better so I expect a big reaction next week."
