HULL KR DOUBLE HEADER | MATCH PREVIEW

Enjoy our Match Preview, as we host two games at the John Smith's Stadium vs Hull KR, the Mens and the Women's featuring on Saturday afternoon.

THE STORY SO FAR 📖

This will be the first game of the 2024 season for the Giants Women as they take on reigning championship winners Hull KR in the Women’s Challenge Cup Group stage, before starting their 2024 Women’s Super League campaign away against Leeds Rhinos on the 19th of April. 

This fixture confirms that Giants fans will be able to watch the women’s team at John Smith’s Stadium twice in the same season for the first time. It is also the first women’s game to be held at John Smith's under the direction of the club rather than the community trust.  This will be an exhilarating 80 minutes of action in the first-ever competitive clash between the two sides. 

The women’s match will kick off on Saturday at 12pm, swiftly followed by the Giants Men at 3:00pm as they take on the Robins in Round 5 of the Betfred Super League.

The last time the Men’s team faced Hull KR, it finished 18-26 as the Robins walked away victorious with tries from Sam Halsall, Jermaine McGillvary and Will Pryce not enough to make the difference.  

THE OPPOSITION 🐦

The Robins haven't started the 2024 campaign as they would have liked, with a close defeat at the hands of Warrington Wolves, and an under par performance vs Salford Red Devils leaves them with an exact record as the Giants, 2-2.

Willie Peters' team have had a similar start to the Giants in the 2024 season with two wins out of their first four including an impressive opening win against their local rivals Hull FC defeating them 0-22.

Ian Watson will have to keep a close eye on The Robins' star men such as Niall Evalds, Ryan Hall and Peta Hiku who are their joint top scores with two tries to their names. Another impressive Robin is new signing Tyrone May who has reached the Super League Grand Final with Catalans previously. He also scored the opening try for Hull KR in their last game against Wolves.

Here, is the 'Opta Stats Pack' for this weeks matchup. 📈

●  Hull KR have won each of their last two Super League matches against Huddersfield Giants, more than they won across their nine meetings in the competition prior to that span (W1 L8).

●  Huddersfield Giants have lost their last three Super League home games, scoring just eight points across their last two; the last time they lost more consecutive home games in the competition was a four-game stretch from June-July 2021.

●  Hull KR have conceded just two linebreaks per game in the 2024 Super League season, the joint-fewest of any team in the competition alongside Wigan Warriors and half as many as Huddersfield Giants (4).

●  Adam Swift (Huddersfield Giants) has scored three tries across his last two Super League games after not scoring any tries in his three previous games in the competition; indeed, he also crossed for two tries in his last game against Hull KR in the competition (Round 18, 2023).

●  No player has made more one-on-one tackles in the 2024 Super League season than Hull KR’s Tyrone May (14); though, he has also made 100 tackles this campaign.

WHO TO WATCH 👀

• Mikey Lewis - The electric half with four try assists to his name already, he has caught the eye on numerous occasions throughout this early years at the Robins.
• Peta Hiku - Returning to Super League, Hiku is one of the competitors top metre makers and will likely line-up at full-back or centre for Willie Peters men.
• Ryan Hall - A household Super League name, Hall still has the finishing prowess he showed at the Rhinos, with a try and try assist last time out vs Warrington.

TICKETING INFORMATION 🎟️

Tickets are on sale online, from the ticket office and over the phone, with prices rising at 12:00pm on Saturday.

Supporters who want to watch the women's Challenge Cup game will need to exit the stadium after full-time of this game, and then re-enter for the mens game with only the Core Stand open for the first game.

SQUAD NEWS 💪

Ian Watson has named his 21-Man Squad for this weekends game, with only Adam Milner coming back into the squad after our victory over Castleford.

No injuries were sustained vs Castleford, meaning that Ian Watson has almost a fully-fit squad to select from.

LUKE ROBINSON & ESAN MARSTERS PREVIEW 🗣️

Head Coach Luke Robinson & Esan Marsters spoke to the media ahead of our game on Saturday, with both covering a number of topics, which GiantsTV members can view below.

WATCH HERE!

WHAT KIT WILL WE WEAR AT THE JOHN SMITH'S STADIUM? ⚡️

As we are at home for this game, the Women's Team and Mens will both wear our 2024 Home Shirt for Round 5, with this being only the second outing of the season for our Claret and Gold strip.

HOW CAN I FOLLOW THE GAME 👇

Giants club social media accounts will also keep supporters updated, with team news, picture and video content during the build up and then match updates throughout the game, the main hub for this is X (Formerly Twitter). Follow us on: Twitter |Facebook | Instagram

Highlights will be available on our YouTube channel 24 Hours after the game, alongside a Full-Match replay on GiantsTV for subscribers to enjoy.

Sky Sports subscribers can watch it live on Sky Sports Arena, as can SuperLeague+ subscribers – Members can save £30 on an annual SuperLeague+ pass, sign up here.