Lewis & TPJ dropped as 'consequence' for missing Hull KR standards
Love Rugby League · Matthew Shaw · 2026-08-21T14:48:41+00:00 · nguồn gốc
Mikey Lewis dropped as ‘consequence’ for missing Hull KR standards
Hull KR boss Willie Peters has confirmed both Mikey Lewis and Tevita Pangai Jnr have been left out of the squad for not reaching the standards expected after their latest disciplinary issues.
Both players have been banned for a second time in quick succession following incidents in the loss to Warrington Wolves. Lewis was playing his first game since a four-match ban while Pangai Jnr was playing for just the second time since a six-match suspension.
Lewis was sin-binned after catching Ewan Irwin with his studs while applying kick pressure, with Pangai Jnr cited for three separate cases of late contact. They have been banned for two and four games respectively.
Both players were available for selection ahead of Saturday’s game with Toulouse Olympique, with the suspensions not activated until after that. However, Peters has made the decision to leave both out due to a need for consequences to be felt for actions.
Mikey Lewis and Tevita Pangai Jnr dropped
“I think it’s noted that we’re the most charged team in the competition in terms of disciplinary points,” Peters said.
“We’ve been given the most points out of any other team in the competition and had the most players sitting on the sideline. I think some players have done things without consequence and if you don’t have consequence, then you keep repeating those actions. So it’s time that we made a decision that it’s not acceptable to be sitting on the sideline and costing teammates through behaviours that’s not in line with our standards.
“There’s times there where it’s not deliberate or there’s no malice, but when there’s repeated efforts, we’ve made a decision to not play those two this week. As I said, it’s more around our standards, what we’re going to accept or what we’re not going to accept and I believe it’ll help us, hopefully this year, but more importantly, it’ll help the club going forward that there’s a standard that we want to uphold and if we’re not upholding that and no matter who you are, then there needs to be consequence and that’s what we’ve chosen to do.”
Peters admitted that Rovers were a better side with Lewis in the line-up, but reiterated that there were areas of his game that needed improving after his latest ban.
“We’re a better team, obviously, with Mikey Lewis in it and we’ve shown that over the years. Mikey, I thought for the majority of the game had a lot of positive actions and it was his first game back and I thought he, as I said before, that he had a strong impact in the way he defended. But as I said before there’s certain things that he needs to improve and he’s aware of that. We all keep conversations between us, but we’re certainly supportive of Mikey and we want to improve Mikey in certain areas of the game that he needs to and he’s aware of that.
“He’s obviously going to sit a few weeks on the sidelines, and we’ll see where it goes. But as I said, we’re a better team with Mikey Lewis in it and when Mikey Lewis is in line with the standards everyone wants to uphold.”
Rovers hand opportunity to young duo
It leaves Rovers without both their starting halfbacks, with Tyrone May also kept out of the squad due to a niggling knee issue. It provides a first opportunity for Jack Charles as a Rovers player since his cross-city move from Hull KR, while fellow youngster Louix Gorman will also be named in the matchday squad for the clash with the French side.
“We’re going to reward two guys that have trained really hard, worked their way through the grades,” Peters added.
“I spoke when I sort of first got here around not just handing a jersey out, they’ve got to earn it and these two have earned it. They’re on the field, they last on the field and what they put into their game tells me they’re going to be long-term players of this club and they’re going to get rewarded by being in the 17.”