Kieran Dixon was man-of-the-match
Kieran Dixon put his Wembley nightmare behind him with a man-of-the-match display to help Hull KR virtually clinch their Super League survival with a precious 20-18 win over Wakefield.
It was a scrappy display from the Robins, who trailed for 65 minutes, but the victory maintained the club's 100 per cent record in the Super 8s Qualifiers and went some way to making up for their humiliating 50-0 defeat by Leeds in the Challenge Cup final.
Dixon, who was in tears after an error-strewn full-back display at Wembley, was shifted on to the wing to begin his rehabilitation and he responded with an accomplished performance highlighted by a try in each half.
The outcome was tough on the Wildcats, who looked the livelier side for the most of the game and matched their hosts' try count, but could manage only one conversion out of four attempts.
Former New Zealand international Kevin Locke, who made an impressive comeback from a seven-week lay-off with a shoulder injury, scored two early tries to put the visitors into a 12-0 lead, while the man he displaced at full-back, Lee Smith, touched down twice on the wing.
Hull KR coach Chris Chester fielded 12 members of his cup final team, with one of them, Graeme Horne, drafted back in when centre Liam Salter pulled out through injury in the warm-up, but put out a new half-back pairing in Dane Chisholm and Matty Marsh.
Danny Washbrook began as a makeshift hooker for the Wildcats in the absence of the suspended Michael Sio and he did a sterling job as the Wildcats got off to a flying start.
Locke, playing only his fourth match for the Wildcats, wriggled free of a host of defenders to touch down for his first try for the club after just seven minutes and got on the end of a kick from winger Jordan Tansey after stand-off Jacob Miller had come up with a break to get his second.
In between, Lee Smith demonstrated his value and his versatility by producing a devastating finish to cross at the corner.
However, Smith was wide with both his first two conversion attempts and Tansey had the misfortune to hit the woodwork when he took over as Wakefield's lead was restricted to 12-0.
That was halved on 29 minutes when Wakefield scrum-half Tim Smith's attacking kick went straight into the grateful arms of Hull KR left winger Josh Mantellato and he went 80 metres for an opportunist try that got his side back in the game.
Dixon added the goal and the deficit was down to just two points three minutes later when Chisholm re-gathered the ball from his own kick over the Wakefield defence and the supporting Tyrone McCarthy got Dixon over for a second try.
The home side were forced to defend grimly in the closing stages of the first half after both Ken Sio, switched to full-back, and Dixon lost the ball in their own 20-metre area but they survived to the break.
Both sides continued to make errors in the second half as stalemate set in.
A break by Lee Smith created a scoring opportunity for substitute Pita Godinet but Sio came to the rescue by bundling him into touch and the pivotal moment came on 65 minutes when Sio's cut-out pass enabled Dixon to claim his second try.
Hooker Shaun Lunt then went over from close range for a fourth try, with Mantellato's first goal making it 20-12, but the Rovers fans were forced to bite their nails when Lee Smith went over for his second try six minutes from the end and kicked his first goal.
