HULL KR winger Tom Davies insists Wigan Warriors are still the team to beat ahead of Friday’s crunch showdown in the League Leaders’ Shield battle.
The clubs were last season’s top two, but Wigan finished two points clear and then beat the Robins 9-2 in the Grand Final to complete a clean sweep of trophies.
Davies joined Hull KR for this season and has helped them set the benchmark by winning the Challenge Cup and going into the clash at The Brick Community Stadium, they have a four-point lead over Wigan at the Super League summit.
But the Wigan-born winger, who scored 30 tries in 62 games for the Warriors between 2017 and 2019, said of his old club: “Make no mistake, they are still the ‘it’ team in my eyes.
“Everything that they did last year, they set the standard for the rest of the league and that’s something we’ve got to get up to.
“Anyone who wants to consider themselves a great team in the league and consider themselves the best, they’ve got to beat them.”
Davies has scored 19 tries since making the off-season move from Catalans Dragons – 15 in Super League – with the most famous of them the match-leveller in the Challenge Cup final with Warrington, after which Mikey Lewis kicked the winning conversion.
“I hadn’t won the Challenge Cup before and that was on my list, to complete the trophy cabinet, so to speak, in my career,” said Davies.
“Coming back to England, a big part of my decision was making sure I was at a team that was competing and going in the right direction. Everything Willie (Peters, head coach) said to me on the phone, they’ve done.
“Wembley was massive, something I’m proud of, and hopefully there’s still a few more trophies to come.”
Davies’ try in that final was set up by a kick from Tyrone May, but the Robins will be without the playmaker against Wigan after he received a two-match ban for questioning the integrity of the referee against Salford Red Devils.
It remains to be seen whether Rowan Milnes, re-signed on loan from Castleford Tigers, will be called up to feature but Davies is sure they can find a way to cope without May’s sizeable influence.
“He’s the halfback on our side and as much as everyone has a role to do, he’s the main playmaker there,” said Davies.
“We are going to miss him, but these are moments we train for. Whoever comes in knows what they have to do and how we attack. We know they won’t let the team down.”