Hull KR winger Greg Minikin says wounded Robins happy to defy the odds this year

Greg Minikin says Hull KR will thrive in their role as underdogs this season – but won’t use a spate of injuries as excuses.

Tony Smith will be missing eight first team players against Castleford on Thursday night as Rovers bid to end a three-match losing run. The Robins were widely tipped for the drop ahead of the start of the season before an opening night win over Wakefield gave them hope.

But they are doing it tough on the injury front now with key playmakers Jordan Abdull, Matt Parcell and Adam Quinlan among the absentees.

Minikin said: “We can’t use that as an excuse. What it does is give an opportunity to some people who’ve been on the sidelines and are now raring to go.

“We’ve been written off and tipped by pretty much everybody to go down, and we do use that as motivation. We’re confident as a group that we can go well this year.

“Every game we go into we’re seen as underdogs but we don’t mind that. We started well and got two points on the board early but now it’s about being consistent.”

England Knights international Minikin will face his former club for the first time on Thursday after a close season switch from the Jungle. The 24-year-old scored 43 tries in 94 appearances in four years at the Tigers but felt the time was right for both parties to move on.

He added: “The decision was a bit of both of us – sometimes things just don’t work out.

“I wouldn’t say I was disappointed, I was there for four years, it was a big part of my life and I’ve still got some good mates there. I’ll always be thankful to them for giving me the opportunity to play Super League.

“It was an opportunity to come here, work with Tony and start a fresh challenge and that’s what I was looking for. I’m excited to be playing against them – it would be good to get one over a few good mates.

“I know how they play having been there – they’re a good side that likes to chuck the ball around and play from their own half. Defensively we’ll have to be really good but we’ve done some video work on them so we know what we have to do.”

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