Hull KR coach Tony Smith wants a repeat of the effort levels produced in Perpignan, but more of a cutting edge, when his side aim to bounce back from a disappointing 32-30 Super League defeat by Catalans away to Salford on Thursday.
It was a first outing since the 18-8 win at Wigan on June 18 for Rovers, who have been hit by six Super League postponements for Covid-related issues.
After the last of them, away to St Helens on Friday, they accepted a short-notice trip to France, where Catalans had been due to host Castleford until the clash was called off due to problems at the Tigers.
With Jordan Abdull’s kicking game highly effective, Rovers were 26-12 in front at half-time, only for the leaders to hit back.
“I was pleased with the effort but not so much with the overall performance,” said Smith, whose side lie sixth, with six wins from eleven games.
“I thought we controlled the game really well in the first half. But we had really poor control and discipline in the second half, which was really disappointing in terms of where we want to be at this stage of the season.
“We had a great opportunity there to turn our opponents over, but all credit to Catalans for fighting back so strongly.
“It’s difficult to lose a game like that, particularly when you’ve played so well in the first half with some great individual performances.
“I’m not making any excuses, saying we were rusty or anything. We’ve taken some really pertinent lessons from that second 40 and we will take that into the next couple of weeks for sure.
“We’re not going to sulk about it or get carried away with either aspect of our game; we’ll just soak it up, learn from it and put it into Thursday.”
The Salford clash is the first of two games in five days, with Catalans visiting Rovers next Monday, August 2.
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