KR’s Greenwood keen to inflict further punishment on Saints

Hull KR forward James Greenwood urged his teammates to take advantage of St Helens’ slump heading into Friday’s trip to Langtree Park.

Saints will be looking to return to winning ways after defeats to Huddersfield, Hull FC Warrington and Catalans, as their top-four hopes took a major dent in recent weeks.

The Robins currently sit 9th in Super League, five points adrift from the top eight, while victory on Friday and a Widnes defeat would put them in good stead to challenge for the Super 8s.

With St Helens the first competitors on that steep climb, Greenwood believes his side must attempt to exploit their recent form, but reminded his teammates the threat they can still pose.

Among the Saints’ ranks is Greenwood’s younger brother Joe, who is slowly becoming a fixture in the side, as he added they must both focus on the task in hand.

“You never get it easy at St Helens and they’re due a good performance and it’s really that first 20 minutes that’s going to be key,” he told TotalRL.

“At the end of the day they’re still Saints and you only have to look at how many years they’ve been doing what they’re doing and obviously there’s a bit of a tough patch but I’m sure they’ll come out if it, we just need to try and take advantage of that.

“We speak a lot but it’s not usually rugby based and we like to keep that separate, and it’s one of them he’s going through that tough stage at the moment and he’s got a job to do if he’s selected and so have I.

“He came into the system before me, I was 20 and he was younger than that say 16 and we’re pretty close but when Friday night comes we’ve both got our jobs to do.”

As the Robins prepare for one final push for the top eight before the competition splits, the former Wigan forward encourage his side to ensure their fate remains in their own hands, but conceded the task is by nature a difficult one.

James Webster’s side face St Helens away this Friday, before home ties with Warrington Wolves, Huddersfield Giants and Leeds Rhinos, with the only game on the road being a short trip to Hull FC.

On reflection, the 25-year-old believes the club’s early exit from the Challenge Cup at the hands of Oldham Roughyeds could later prove to pay dividends.

“You’d probably say it was made or break now, but I just concentrate on being on the field and if it’s not then we need to be in control and If we lose two points then it will be a tough mountain to climb,” he added.

“It’s tough to get up but we were in this situation last year but we’re staying positive and we just can’t wait for Friday’s game.

“I think the week off in the Challenge Cup is actually going to help us and it will give us a refreshment and if we’d have had to go Wigan, Saints and then play and then Warrington that would have been a lot tougher.”