Hull KR head coach Willie Peters demanded more protection for star man Mikey Lewis after his side fought out an ill-tempered 18-4 Super League win over Hull FC at Craven Park.

Peters accused some visiting players of “deliberately” targeting Lewis and appeared to reference an incident in the closing stages in which prop Jack Ashworth appeared to elbow the Rovers man in the face.

Peters said: “I probably lose my calm and composure more than Mikey did, which was great because I talked to the players about not getting caught up in things when it’s like that.

“I’m all for physical intent and there’s going to be a niggle, I get that, but some of the things went over the top.

“For the treatment he got, it was incredible that he stayed composed. He’s a key player and he’s going to get a lot of attention, but you don’t learn to live with an elbow to the head.

“There’s accidents that happen, but that is not an accident, that is a deliberate act. That shouldn’t happen again. We need to protect him.”

Peters admitted his side lost their focus and discipline midway through a tight encounter that was never really settled until the brilliant Jez Litten burrowed over for his side’s second try early in the second half.

The result means Rovers will clinch the League Leaders’ Shield unless they lose their last two matches and Wigan win both of theirs with a swing of over 100 points.

“It wasn’t pretty, it was very scrappy as derbies can be, but we needed to win and we got that so we move on, we look to improve, and we’ll have to against Wakefield next week,” added Peters.

“I might have a beer after this but there’s no way I will celebrate the League Leaders’ Shield. We’re aware that it’s not ours until we get the points. But I think that’s a good thing because we need to make sure we keep sharp at this time of year.”

Hull FC head coach John Cartwright is convinced his side can still challenge in the post-season play-offs despite a loss that has left their hopes hanging by a thread.

FC go into the last two games one point behind sixth-placed Wakefield, and realistically need a favour from Rovers who travel to Belle Vue next week.

Cartwright: Play-off race going right to wire

“We’ll be cheering for a Rovers win next week,” admitted Cartwright. “It looks like it’s going to go down to the wire but we’ve just got to worry about ourselves, dust ourselves off, get a side together and go and beat Warrington.

“I believe with all my heart that we can win the next two games, and if that’s good enough to get us into the six that’ll be the question. We’ve got to be a bit smarter, and a bit of luck would be nice, and I certainly believe we can play finals.”

Aside from a likely sanction for Ashworth, Cartwright could also be without Jordan Rapana for the run-in after the influential centre was sin-binned in the dying stages for an apparent high tackle.

Rapana has accumulated enough disciplinary points to put him on the cusp of a ban, and Cartwright said: “Hopefully he hasn’t caught him high. Hopefully it’s just a timing thing. If it’s not high we’ll hold out hope that he’ll be OK.”

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