Hull KR recruitment report: Middles priority, Shaun Kenny-Dowall focus and NRL prospects

2023 will see a new era for Hull KR, with new coach Willie Peters taking over from Tony Smith at the end of the season. As good as the rise of the club has been over the past few seasons, there are still a number of improvements the Robins need to make on the field to take them to the next level.

Here, Hull Live look at the recruitment situation at Rovers and takes a look at the priorities the Red and Whites need to address in the up and coming months.

There are currently 12 players within the KR ranks off-contract at the end of the year: Dean Hadley, Albert Vete, Korbin Sims, Brad Takairangi, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Ben Crooks, Will Maher, Jimmy Keinhorst, Sam Wood, Greg Richards, Will Tate, Charlie Cavanaugh.

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Realistically, you'd imagine Hadley, Keinhorst, Wood, Tate and Cavanaugh to continue at the club in 2023. As reported yesterday by Hull Live, Sam Wood is close to penning a new deal with the Robins, with others set to follow as Rovers ramp up their recruitment drive for next year.

The overseas trio of Sims, Vete and Takairangi just haven't worked out for the club, and it looks unlikely that the trio will earn new deals at Craven Park, opening up a significant sum of money in the salary cap for Rovers to play with.

The future of Crooks, Richards and Maher are still up in the air, with Ben Crooks recently stating he is yet to receive an offer from the club around signing a new deal, but Rovers may look to move a number of players on and head in a different direction under new coach Peters.

There's no hiding that Willie Peters needs to bring in some no-nonsense prop-forwards to East Hull in 2023. Apart from George King and Matty Storton, Rovers are struggling to