Leeds 12-0 Hull KR: Robins lose Lachlan Coote in Headingley defeat

Hull KR are sweating on Lachlan Coote ahead of next week’s Challenge Cup semi-final after the full-back left the field in their 12-0 defeat at Leeds.

The buoyant Robins went into the game looking to set a new club record of seven straight Super League wins but conjured their worst display of the season as tries from Matt Prior and Morgan Gannon earned the injury-ravaged hosts their second successive victory.

Full-back Lachlan Coote was helped off for a head injury assessment after a clattering collision with Kruise Leeming early in the second half and did not reappear, while there are also question marks over centre Sam Wood who was helped off the field shortly after.

Robins boss Tony Smith had rested captain Shaun Kenny-Dowall with an eye on the semi-final against Huddersfield, but made only two more changes as Wood, Matt Parcell and Will Maher all returned.

Smith watched a dismal performance from his side whose constant errors and indiscipline helped the hosts, reeling with around 12 players absent and featuring a third-choice full-back in Jack Broadbent, to ease to a victory as valuable as it was unexpected.

The visitors were sloppy from the start, and moments after centre Ben Crooks gave away a penalty in centre-field, the same player fluffed Blake Austin’s grubber kick to let Prior in to tumble over the line.

With Rhyse Martin’s conversion, Leeds had established an early advantage that they would retain for the remainder of a forgettable first 40 minutes, in which constant errors numbed what attacking threat Rovers could muster.

Broadbent, growing into his unfamiliar role, almost sent Ash Handley clear as Leeds pummelled a weakened Rovers left flank, while the visitors’ best early chance ended when Crooks flung a