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My team, Hull Kingston Rovers, have made a number of changes to their squad and backroom staff in an attempt to improve on a highly disappointing 2014.
Prior to the 2014 season, Chairman Neil Hudgell stated that Hull KR had their strongest squad in the Super League era and would look to build on an eighth place finish in 2013.
12 months down the line and 13 new players have joined the club with a similar number leaving.
Three of last year’s major signings – grand final-winning scrum half Kris Keating, former New South Wales prop Justin Poore and former Queensland forward and current Papua New Guinea international Neville Costigan – have all left the club.
Poore unfortunately was injured on Easter Monday at Catalans Dragons – a broken kneecap ending his career. He never really got going at Rovers as two early season suspensions restricted his appearances prior to the Easter Weekend.
Keating never hit the heights that was expected of him, came nowhere taking over the mantle of skipper Michael Dobson, and never settled in the UK. It was clear that new coach Chris Chester was not keen to keep him at the club and a deal was agreed to release him from his contract to allow him to return home to Australia and join St George Illawarra.
Costigan is the most disappointing loss of the three. After a slow opening to his time at Hull KR, he put in a number of strong performances in the Rovers pack and was expected to be a major part of the forward pack in 2015. His decision to return to Australia and have the second year of his contract cancelled just prior to the start of pre-season training was disappointing.
Even greater losses though are those of our joint captains from last season – Travis Burns and Josh Hodgson.
Both were outstanding throughout their time at Hull KR, with Hodgson making his full international debut in the Four Nations in November. You can’t blame him for wanting to make a name for himself in the NRL and Josh will give it all he has to make himself a success at Canberra Raiders.
Burns ran the show for Rovers last year and excelled – his halfback partnership with his former Penrith Panthers colleague Luke Walsh at St Helens could determine whether they retain the Super League crown or not.
Other first-team regulars to leave the KC Lightstream Stadium are Craig Hall, whose versatility and skill is a big loss. He has joined Wakefield Trinity Wildcats with a view to playing regular Super League rugby. Wingman Omari Caro and forward Jamie Langley did not have their contracts renewed, fullback Greg Eden has surprisingly secured a deal with the Brisbane Broncos, Rhys Lovegrove, a former St George junior, has re-located to London and joined the Broncos of the capital in the championship, while David Hodgson, Jason Netherton and Sean Gleeson have all retired.
Hodgson and Burns leave big boots to fill – they were the dominant players in a struggling team in 2014 and with Keating also leaving it means that a brand new halves partnership will be steering the ship in 2015.
That new partnership looks likely to be Terry Campese and Albert Kelly.
Both are quality players but have had their injury problems in the last couple of seasons back in Australia. How well Rovers go will be dictated to by how much game time Campese and Kelly have.
I expect Campese, signed from Canberra Raiders where he had a difficult last couple of years, to be the general and direct the play. Kelly, signed from Gold Coast Titans and not yet 24 years of age, is the more dynamic and off-the-cuff half, with the potential to be one of the most exciting players in the competition.
One of the many things the Rovers’ backline lacked last year was speed – that shouldn’t be the case in 2015.
We have mentioned Kelly already, who has bags of speed, and Rovers have raided the London Broncos for another young back in Kieran Dixon.
Dixon was out injured due to a badly damaged knee for a full 12 months up to the end of last season. At the time of his injury in 2013 he was in the England Knights squad and was rated very highly – probably higher than Mason Caton-Brown, who has since signed for Salford Red Devils and looks a likely England player of the future.
In the pre-season trial games Dixon has started at fullback and excelled, scoring an outstanding try in last week’s win against Hull FC at the KC Stadium as well as kicking three conversions from the touchline.
Dixon will face competition for the fullback berth from Ben Cockayne, who was outstanding in that position last year until injury ruined his season. Cockayne has had close season surgery and will have a hell of a fight to regain his favoured position.
Although more under the radar than Campese and Kelly, I expect ex-Parramatta flyer Ken Sio to be one of the signings of the year in the whole of Super League,
At 25 years of age, Sio is in the prime of his career and is the type of player who will set Super League alight – he scored 13 tries in just 12 NRL appearances for the Eels in 2014 and has a career record of 37 tries in 57 appearances.
On the opposite side of the field could line up Italian international Josh Mantellato.
Not a lot is known about Mantellato in the UK – he is best known for kicking the drop goal that secured Italy a historic 15-14 victory over England in the lead up to the 2013 World Cup. He has little NRL experience, having made only two first grade appearances for the Newcastle Knights, yet he is a prolific points scorer in the reserve grade New South Wales Cup and has been named on the wing in the team of the year for the last three years. It will be interesting to see if that form carries to the Super League.
Experienced Wigan centre Darrell Goulding was signed half way through last year. He is now fully recovered from injury and will be a useful signing, helping to bring on the young local-born centre Liam Salter who had such a good 2014 season.
Maurice Blair, a teammate of Kelly’s at the Gold Coast Titans, has also signed but I am not sure where he will fit in. When he signed it was presumed that he would form a half partnership with Kelly, but then Campese was recruited. This means Blair will be a back-up or moved to the centres, where he has experience as well.
Centre is a hotly contested position – Goulding will definitely have one side tied up and I would like to see young Salter handed the other centre position.
Throw in the experienced Kris Welham, who had a nightmare 2014 including being loaned out to dual registration club Gateshead Thunder on a couple of occasions, Graeame Horne, who is more of a back rower these days, Mantellato who can also play centre and the youngster Macauley Hallet, who made a try scoring debut at the end of 2014, and you can see the battle is going to be tough.
The pack actually looks stronger all round than last year, but we will do well to cover the loss of Hodgson at hooker.
Keal Carlile will take over the hooking duties backed up by the unknown Frenchman John Boudebza, signed from Lezignan.
Carlile will let no one down and makes few errors, but he does need to up his game out of dummy half if we are to have anywhere near the same potency that we had with Hodgson. The club wanted to bring in a hooker but could not close deals for Matt Srama or Shaun Lunt so they have decided to give Carlile the chance he has been craving for a few years now to prove that he is up to the job of being a first-choice Super League hooker – I hope he is.
Mick Weyman had a great first season in Super League scoring seven tries and being a very popular player with the supporters, who loved the effort and desire he showed every week.
The front row has been strengthened greatly by the arrival of Mitch Allgood from Parramatta and the surprise signing of Ryan Bailey from Leeds Rhinos.
No one saw the Bailey signing coming as everyone assumed that he would stay at Leeds for life, but he has come to Rovers for a new challenge and I expect to see a more mature and disciplined Bailey line up alongside Weyman.
Youngsters Adam Walker and James Green will, hopefully, continue the improvement they have shown over the last 12 months. If they do, we have a strong front row rotation and the back row also looks stronger.
French international Kevin Larroyer was outstanding last year and if he continues that fine form he will be a certain starter – add in the fact he is comfortable playing 80 minutes and he is a great option to have. Unfortunately he suffered a fractured cheekbone in a trial game at Warrington and will miss the first six or so weeks of the season
Graeme Horne had a solid 2014 and local youngsters Jordan Cox, who was courted by St Helens before agreeing a contract extension, and Aaron Ollett both had impressive years.
Another young local, Sonny Esslemont, also made his first team debut in 2014 and big things are expected of him.
The back row has been strengthened by the addition of James Donaldson from Bradford Bulls, the experienced Tyrone McCarthy who has signed from Northern Pride, and Wigan back rower Greg Burke has joined on a 12-month loan deal.
There is certainly more strength in depth and the recruitment seems solid and, in places, inspired.
But the biggest signing could have come off the pitch.
Willie Poching has joined as assistant coach and his experience in winning cultures at Leeds Rhinos and Warrington Wolves over the last few years could prove the difference between a struggle to make the eight or competing for a top-six place.
Despite the poor end to last season under Chester, he does seem to have recruited well and there is a feel-good factor floating around at the moment – especially after coming back from 22-6 down to beat Hull FC 28-22 at the KC stadium last Sunday. Although losing 40-0 at Warrington has removed some of that feel-good factor!
We’ll see which of these two results are more indicative come Round 1 against Leeds Rhinos at the KC Lightstream Stadium – the exact repeat of last year’s Round 1 fixture when a stadium record crowd of over 11,000 packed in with high hopes for a successful year.
Drawing 6-6 at half time the optimism was still there – 40 minutes later and the Rhinos had scored 28 unanswered points and won the game easily. We cannot have that repeated if the team, and Chester, are to be taken seriously.
The number of second-half collapses under Chester, who replaced Craig Sandercock mid-season, last year was frightening and that has to have been resolved if we are to be competitive this year.
If everyone stays fit we will make the eight and challenge for seventh or maybe sixth – no higher than sixth – but I will be happy to avoid the middle-eight play offs.
We saw what happened at Castleford Tigers last season, they went from twelfth to fourth and were in contention for the league leader’s shield going into the last game – who says this can’t be the year of the Robin?
It’ll be about time.
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