Hull KR extended their lead at the top of Betfred Super League by thrashing
previously unbeaten Leigh 30-0 at a boisterous Craven Park.
The Robins’ perfect record rarely looked like being troubled as they scored four tries in a ruthless first-half performance.
Tom Davies added a fifth late on and Mikey Lewis finished with 18 points as the home side rubber-stamped their title credentials.
Both sides made changes from comfortable Challenge Cup wins against opponents from lower divisions last weekend, with Hull KR unchanged from the 20-10 win at St Helens in their last Super League game.
Leigh made one alteration from the draw at Hull FC that ended their 100 per cent Super League record as Alec Tuitavake came in for Andrew Badrock.
Oliver Gildart was first to go over in the seventh minute as the hosts worked the ball out wide after Lachlan Lam’s forward pass had handed them possession deep in Leigh territory.
Oliver Gildart was among the try-scorers for Hull KR in their impressive win over Leigh Leopards (Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com)
Lewis added a second in the 14th minute following a lengthy video review, with Elliot Minchella seemingly held up on the last tackle but somehow squeezing the ball to stand-off Lewis, who converted his own score.
Lewis’ diagonal kick narrowly evaded Joe Burgess two minutes later and Leigh threatened to respond midway through the half when the ball was worked left to Bailey Hodgson, who stepped infield but had his score chalked off when the video referee ruled that the initial grounding had been short of the line.
Umyla Hanley should have helped Leigh cut the deficit when he burst clear after 30 minutes but, with options left and right, he dallied 20 metres out and allowed the home defence to recover.
Five minutes later Lewis cut in from the left wing and drew two defenders before a tremendous offload sent Kelepi Tanginoa in under the posts.
The Robins made it 22-0 at the break when Burgess burst down the left and chipped over Leigh’s weary backline for Lewis to gather and score before kicking the extras as the half-time hooter sounded.
The hosts might have gone further clear 13 minutes after the restart as Minchella’s offload narrowly evaded the outstretched finger tips of Dean Hadley.
A sustained spell of Leigh pressure came to nothing as Burgess intercepted a pass that was set to create an overload in the corner before Lewis sent over a 65th-minute penalty.
Davies went over in the corner after another flowing attack 10 minutes from time as Lewis capped his remarkable afternoon by nailing the conversion from the touchline.
Super League Round Six Fixtures (all live on Sky Sports)
Thursday March 27
- 8pm: Castleford Tigers vs Catalans Dragons
Friday March 28
- 8pm: Leigh Leopards vs Wakefield Trinity
- 8pm: Warrington Wolves vs Leeds Rhinos
Saturday March 29
- 5pm: Catalans Dragons vs St Helens (5.30pm kick-off)
- 5pm: London Broncos vs Hunslet
- 7.30pm: Doncaster vs Toulouse
Sunday March 30
- 3pm: Huddersfield Giants vs Hull Kingston Rovers
- 3pm: Wigan Warriors vs Salford Red Devils
Sky Sports will again show every game of the Super League live this season – including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining four matches each week shown on Sky Sports+ via the red button.
