Hull KR 'can trust Craig Hall to fill Travis Burns role'
HULL KR's Craig Hall says he is confident of stepping in and deputising for suspended stand-off Travis Burns in the opening four matches of the season.
Hall will find himself in the same position as this time last year, when he was called upon to fill in for the injured Blake Green alongside Michael Dobson.
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Big boots to fill: Hull KR's Craig Hall
But unlike last year, Hall will defend in the normal half-back position, rather than switching to the wing when KR are not in possession.
"I was pretty happy with my defence against Hull on Sunday," Hall told the Mail.
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"Last season I was defending on the wing and attacking at half-back, but this year I'm going to defend where the normal pivots defend, rather than doing two jobs.
"It will help me to focus on doing just one key job, filling in for Travis while he is out."
Hall got his first taste of pre-season action when he played the first 51 minutes of Rovers' 28-18 win over Hull at the KC Stadium.
He missed the first two friendlies because of a foot injury picked up during Rovers' warm-weather training camp in Tenerife before Christmas.
But he showed he was up to speed with a try, and a crucial interception of a Mark O'Meley pass deep inside the Rovers half.
"I was a bit rusty as it was my first hit out and I still have some work to do on some areas, but going forward it wasn't too bad," he said.
"As a team, our first 20 minutes was really good.
"Defensively, their only try in the first half came from a kick, which we're happy with as nobody ran through us.
"Our timing in attack was a bit off, though, but the more we work on those things the happier we'll be.
"Pre-season has been pretty good overall. It's been very positive. Now we have to take that into the new season, take each week as it comes and, hopefully, start with a win over Catalan."
8 Comments
by ra_robin2013
Friday, January 25 2013, 1:55PM
“For me, Craig Hall should be the first choice number 6. I was even advocating that Blake Green should have been played at loose forward last year. Now (or at least by the time of the fifth round!) we have someone who I would consider to be perfect for the 13 shirt in Travis Burns. As albaz and easthullfc11 have alluded to, Craig's best attributes would be highlighted at 6 but, more importantly for me if her were to defend at 6 then he would be less of a liability. Besides not being the biggest or strongest defender, Craig's real problem with edge defending lies with his decision making and he'll end up tackling nobody. The more central he is in defence, the less exposed he is. Don't get me wrong though, I'm not suggesting lining him up next to Micky Paea in the middle !
The only downside to playing TB at 13 would be having to move Lovegrove as 13 is undoubtedly his best position. He would still be an effective prop but his best form came from 13 last year. Thrown Griffin into the mix and Sandercock has a welcome headache when picking his pivots.”
by albaz
Thursday, January 24 2013, 3:51PM
“I agree that Craig could be wasted on the wing,he has as much skill as most off-halves I think, but his ability in defense would be a worry.
His old man Dave was also a very brainy player who I always thought was wasted at full-back.
If we get a mom or two from Craig ,might we see Burns at loose forward?”
by 11pointsbelow
Thursday, January 24 2013, 1:56PM
“bungle maybe eddie (another figment of you immagination) doesnt tweet like larvin haha
bungle, forest, red army and red hill, mmmm try west hull red ,thirty2thirty, bridrobin, east on top etc etc what a clown!!!!!!”
by Red_Hill_Bill
Wednesday, January 23 2013, 8:18PM
“Easthullfc11, I couldn't agree more, he is wasted on the wing.”
by easthullfc11
Wednesday, January 23 2013, 12:46PM
“i can't understand why hall isn't the first choice 6 at kr. it's the one position that's suited for his ability. he's a natural runner/backer upper who can accelerate quickly, and side step at pace. not many players can do this.he's got natural balance. i reckon it'll be a huge mistake sticking him on the wing.”
by Bungle
Wednesday, January 23 2013, 12:39PM
“Eddy - have you considered giving Hull FC £15 million from the revenue from your property empire in France? It must make loads of money for you. (in your dreams)”
by Bungle
Wednesday, January 23 2013, 12:13PM
“Eddy - talking about information being wrong, I see your inside info from your friends in the construction industry about the North Stand never being built wasn't true (what a surprise).
Other info you have got wrong is:
- that you own property in France
- that you are a friend of Stevo
- that you went to NCP as a guest of the Catalan Dragons
- that you play golf with Dobson's surgeon”
by Red_Army
Wednesday, January 23 2013, 9:08AM
“Craig will do okay till Travis can play, he's come on leaps and bounds since he joined us.”