Morgan tries the young guns

Abstract

Rovers' resistance was finally broken in the 25th minute when [Mick Govin] took an Aaron Heremaia pass and crashed over from close range. Govin's second successful kick made it 12-4.

[Leigh]'s powerful pack were punching holes in Rovers' defence with increasing regularity. Jon Fallon did not help matters when he was yellow-carded for a high shot on Dana Wilson.

Worse was to follow for Rovers when Scot Grix, the thorn in their side in the Northern Rail Cup final, carved open the Robins rearguard for Carl Forber to score. Mick Govin made it four conversions from four to make it 24-4.

Hull Kr fielded a side with ten players under the age of 21 as they lost their first league game of the season against Leigh Centurions at the Coliseum.

Few would have given the Robins a chance with such a young side, but they battled for the 80 minutes and showed head coach Justin Morgan they are good enough to be called upon.

And the scoreline could have been even closer had referee Ben Thaler seen Liam Welham ground the ball for a try in the 73rd minute.

That would have given both Welham brothers tries on their full debuts for Rovers.

Kris had opened the scoring as early as the fourth minute, before Leigh stormed back with six tries.

In essence, Phil Joseph's try towards the end was nothing more than a consolation as he rounded off the scoring.

Dwayne Barker became the fourth player to skipper Rovers this season as regular captain James Webster sat this game out along with 12 other first-team regulars.

Their absence gave the Welhams their chance to make their full debuts together, which is believed to be the first time two brothers made their debuts in the same Rovers side.

Continuing the family theme, cousins Kirk and Jason Netherton lined up in the same side for the first time also. For Kirk it was his full debut.

Dave Wilson and Lee Gommersall were rewarded for fine performances in the under-21s with their debuts.

Morgan saw his men slip to defeat but he praised the youngsters for the way they played against a big powerful Leigh side.

"I can't fault the effort of the youngsters," Morgan told the Mail. "The second half was fantastic.

"We had ten players under the age of 21 out there and they showed some really good signs.

"I saw a few new combinations and things and I was pleased with.

"I have no regrets about playing them. We're top of the table and we can do what we want really.

"We're not chasing anyone. They're chasing us. I made the decision a few weeks ago to do this and this was the first step of blooding the youngsters."

Despite the youthful look to the side, Morgan's men were cheered on by a large contingent of Robins supporters.

Leigh perhaps were playing mind games when they kept Rovers out on the pitch for a couple of minutes before taking to the field.

It seemed to have worked as Damien Couturier's kick-off went straight into touch to hand the early initiative to the home side, but a strong defensive stand from Rovers kept them out.

It was Rovers who got the scoreboard ticking first with elder Kris Welham crossing in front of his watching family with his first touch in senior rugby.

Matty Brooks' high kick was gathered by Ellis. Barker's pass outside gave Welham his opportunity to score. Couturier was off target with his kick, but Rovers led.

The lead lasted less than four minutes when Mick Govin fed his full-back Scott Grix who scored in the corner. Govin added the extras for a 6-4 lead.

Leigh hooker Paul Rowley was denied a try when he was superbly held up in the tackle by Leroy Rivett.

Rovers' resistance was finally broken in the 25th minute when Mick Govin took an Aaron Heremaia pass and crashed over from close range. Govin's second successful kick made it 12-4.

Leigh's powerful pack were punching holes in Rovers' defence with increasing regularity. Jon Fallon did not help matters when he was yellow-carded for a high shot on Dana Wilson.

From the penalty, Heremaia strolled through a motionless Rovers defence to score his side's third try.

Worse was to follow for Rovers when Scot Grix, the thorn in their side in the Northern Rail Cup final, carved open the Robins rearguard for Carl Forber to score. Mick Govin made it four conversions from four to make it 24-4.

Leigh almost scored a fifth just before half-time, but tenacious tackling from a spirited defence denied them.

But in the 45th minute, the pack ploughed forward while Heremaia crashed over. Govin again showed unerring accuracy with the kick.

Jason Netherton, who clashed heads with Byron Ford in the recent Challenge Cup semi-final, was at it again. This time it was Jon Fallon who collided with the second rower with Fallon coming off second best and after a lengthy break for attention Fallon was stretchered off.

Lee Greenwood was adjudged to have knocked on trying to ground the ball in the left hand corner just as Jon Fallon was making his way back to the Rovers dug-out.

With ten minutes remaining Mick Govin was sent to the stands for 10 minutes after a late shot on Phil Joseph after the tackle had been completed.

From the penalty, Couturier went for the line but was penalised for a double movement grounding the ball.

Pat Weisner managed a rare line break from inside his 30-metre line in the final ten minutes.

Couturier carried the move on and with the sound of Leigh tacklers closing him down he fed the ball inside for Liam Welham who failed to match his brother's achievement at the start of the game, although the 17-year-old insisted he had scored.

Welham had another chance to cap his debut with a try but a combination of Scot Grix and Danny Halliwell bundled him into touch.

This was just moments after Lee Greenwood became the third player - and the second Leigh man - to be sin-binned.

Dana Wilson compounded Rovers' misery by going over in the 73rd minute. Rob Roberts converted for a 36-4 lead.

To their credit, Rovers never gave up and Joseph gave the remaining fans something to cheer when he took a ball to score from dummy-half. Couturier added his name to the score-sheet with the conversion.

In truth, Rovers youngsters had suffered a baptism of fire but they'd come through it with only minor burns and it's nothing that cannot be healed over the next few weeks.