Hull KR v St Helens preview
Hull KR's caretaker coach Willie Poching believes there could be no better opportunity to lift his side out of the doldrums than by facing a wounded St Helens.
Poching, placed in temporary charge following the sacking of Chris Chester three games into the season, takes the reins of a side still reeling from Sunday's surprise defeat by last year's bottom club Wakefield.
Saints, too, are in something of a slump, having suffered heavy back-to-back defeats to Salford and Sydney Roosters, and Poching is expecting a backlash. "I think it's a good time to play them," he said. "You've got to be excited about every opposition you come up against but they're one of the big clubs that you get excited about.
"These are the games that the players want to be part of. Saints will be looking to reverse some of the results they've had and I know Keiron (Cunningham) will have them fired up but it's a challenge we're looking forward to. "We've got our own situation to worry about. There will be no better way to try and get a response out of them than up against a St Helens team that is really hungry."
Poching will take confidence from the proud home record of Hull KR, who are undefeated in their last eight meetings with St Helens at their Craven Park home going back to to the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup in 2008.
Saints head coach Cunningham, insists his club's previous record on the ground will be irrelevant as they look to bounce back from their 38-12 World Club Series mauling.
"It is something you can look at but it is, and has to be, a fresh slate every time you go," he said. "Our challenge as a team and a club is to be ready for every game regardless of whatever the team you are facing is doing. We have to focus on our own performance.
"The Roosters game gave us a shot in the arm because we physically matched it with one of the best packs in the world. I saw a twinkle in the eye of my forwards because it showed they are as good as we think they are. Now we have to get the rest right. "If we take that physicality into the game then we won't be far off, but we have to be more clinical with the ball."
Saints are boosted by the return of hooker James Roby after he sat out the last two games with a rib injury while full-back Shannon McDonnell is also included in Cunningham's 19-man squad after recovering from a snapped Achilles.
Hull KR: 1. Ken Sio, 3. Liam Salter, 4. Iain Thornley, 5. Kieran Dixon, 7. Albert Kelly, 8. Adam Walker, 10. Mitch Allgood, 11. Maurice Blair, 12. Graeme Horne, 13. Chris Clarkson, 16. James Green, 17. Dane Tilse, 18. Ben Cockayne, 20. James Greenwood, 21. Thomas Minns, 23. Ryan Shaw, 24. George Lawler, 25. Stephen Holker, 26. Robbie Mulhern.
St Helens: 2. Tommy Makinson, 3. Jordan Turner, 5. Adam Swift, 6. Travis Burns, 7. Luke Walsh, 8. Alex Walmsley, 9. James Roby, 10. Kyle Amor, 11. Atelea Vea, 12. Jon Wilkin, 13. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, 14. Lama Tasi, 16. Andre Savelio, 17. Luke Thompson, 18. Dominique Peyroux, 20. Joe Greenwood, 21. Matty Dawson, 22. Jack Owens, 23. Shannon McDonnell.
