In a dress rehearsal for a Wembley Cup Final clash in a
fortnight’s time, the fixture calendar threw together the Warrington Wolves and
Hull KR with the visitors looking to extend their lead at the top of the table,
the home side needing the win to lift themselves one place on the table to
eighth.

The Robins were favourites with the bookies, handicapped by
ten points on the coupon, and tipped to win as they did on the last two
meetings between the sides in 2024.

This was a chance for players to impress the coach and make
their claim for a place in the cup side for the final on the 7^th
June.

It was a cautious opening from the Champions elect, prodding
an probing the Wolves defence, but on nine minutes Jack Broadbent stepped off
his left foot and past the last line of defence to score the opener. Arthur Mourgue
was wide with his conversion attempt.

A little against the run of play, the Wolves were right back
in the game on fourteen as Dan Russell took a short pass and went through a
rare gap in the KR defence for a ten metre try. Josh Thewlis add the conversion
from in front of the sticks to put his side into the lead.

A broken Warrington defensive line was fully exploited by KR
on twenty-four, a long looping pass from Tyrone May finding Tom Davies for a
simple try to put his side back into the lead. This time Mourgue found the mark
for a 10-6 lead.

Magic Mike extended the KR lead on thirty-seven, dropping
the shoulder, spinning out of a tackle and diving in for a trademark try on
thirty-eight to extend the lead. Mourgue was wide again, KR with an eight-point
advantage at the interval.

A miss-out pass from Lewis found Joe Burgess who ran five
metres and leapt for the corner flag, grounding one-handed in the corner for
the first try o the second forty. Despite the referee sending up the decision
as a no try, he was overruled by the video referee, Hull 18-6 ahead. Mourgue
missed another, the Frenchman not having the best night with the boot.

KR outnumbered the Wolves defenders as they moved the ball
ninety metres with Tyrone May taking the final inside pass after Peta Hiku was involved
twice in a flowing move down the right-hand side.  Mourgue was on target for 24-6.

The Wolves were back in the game on the hour mark thanks to
regathering a short kick off. Josh Thewlis managing to get the ball to ground
under the tackle. Thewlis added the conversion for 12-24.

Mikey Lewis added insult to injury with a drop goal as the
final hooter sounded for a 31-12 win.

The result was put beyond any doubt on seventy-three when
Davies dove over for his second of the night as KR exploited an overlap wide
right. Mourgue added the conversion for an eighteen-point lead with under five
minutes remaining.

A couple of flourishes from Warrington was an attempt to
gloss over the fact that they were a clear second best against the league
leaders and their opponents at Wembley in a fortnight. Sam Burgess will point
at his long injury list as a reason for a spirited rather than winning
performance while the KR bandwagon rolls on, just one loss suffered in the 2025
season, the Robins looking almost flawless.

Warrington Wolves: Dufty, Thewlis Josh (G 1/2), Tai, Wrench,
Lindop, Ratchford, Leyland, Yates, Crowther, Philbin, Holroyd, Russell (T),
Currie.  Subs: Harrison, Wood, Whitehead,
Harthill. 18^th Man:  Thewlis.

Hull KR: Mourgue (G 2/5), Davies (2T), Hiku, Broadbent (T),
Burgess (T), Lewis (T, DG), May (T), Sue, Litten, Hadley, Whitehead, Batchelor,
Minchella. Subs: Luckley, Richardson, Tanginoa, Brown. 18^th Man:
Doro.

Half-Time: 6-14.

Full-Time: 12-31.

Score Progression: 0-4, 4-4, 6-4, 6-8, 6-10, 6-14 : HT: 6-18,
6-22, 6-24, 10-24, 12-24, 12-28, 12-30, 12-31 :FT.

Lead Exchanges: KR – Square – Warrington - KR.

Referee: Aaron Moore.