Hull Kr Vs Tigers: Gildart and Burgess Return as Lawton Starts

Hull KR vs Tigers at Craven Park brought Hull KR into the game with five straight wins behind them and a chance to move within two points of the Super League summit. Willie Peters named a side built for continuity, but one that also brought Oliver Gildart and Joe Burgess back into the outside backs for a sell-out evening.

Craven Park Team News

Gildart returned after missing the previous match with an ankle injury picked up in Toulouse a fortnight earlier, while Burgess came back after sitting out the previous week through illness. Karl Lawton started at hooker, with Jez Litten named on the bench as his minutes were managed.

Noah Booth dropped to 18th man duties, Rhyse Martin shifted back into the back-row after playing centre the previous week, and Dean Hadley moved into the middle to replace Sauaso Sue. Jordan Dezaria and Bill Leyland dropped out, while Jack Brown joined the bench alongside Sam Luckley, Jai Whitbread and Litten.

Castleford Changes Under Ryan Carr

Castleford arrived having beaten Wigan Warriors at the Brick Community Stadium less than a fortnight earlier, and Ryan Carr used the trip to Craven Park to hand out four debuts. Phoenix Laulu-Togaga'e started at full-back, with Tyler Dupree, Tom Nicholson-Watton and Brad Dwyer also in action.

Hull KR’s lineup was Jack Broadbent; Tom Davies, Peta Hiku, Gildart, Burgess; Mikey Lewis, Tyrone May; Hadley, Lawton, Tom Amone; Martin, James Batchelor; Elliot Minchella, with Litten, Luckley, Whitbread and Brown on the bench. That group went into a six-game stretch across league and cup, with more Super League tests still to come after this one.

Hull KR’s Six-Game Run

The immediate pressure sits on execution, not selection. Hull KR had already won five in a row in all competitions, and a sixth straight result would keep the club within touching distance of the top while the squad is being managed through changing roles, returning players and minutes control.

For Peters, the balance is clear: keep the run alive, keep the returning backs in rhythm and avoid losing ground while the club moves through six more games over round 10. A sell-out at Craven Park gives him the platform, but the response on the field has to match it.