Whatever the ins and outs of the abortive takeover bid last November, Martin Hall brings Hull KR to Spotland on Sunday for what has replaced Oldham as the ‘must win’ game of the season - and that takes some doing!

Or is it Mal Reilly at the helm? Lines of command do seem to be blurred at New Craven park - to the point where it’s difficult to make out which of them is Harry Corbett and which is Sooty.

Whoever’s hand is up who, they steered the Robins to victory over NL3 side York City Knights in the late Trains Cup last week (remember that?) to set up a grand finale against Leigh at Spotland later this month.

Given York’s demolitions of both Featherstone and Halifax thus far, Rovers’ 32-nil win looks pretty comprehensive - but for a team asking for a salary cap dispensation at the start of the season, their current position of 8th smacks of underachievement.

Indeed, a glimpse down their teamsheet provides enough indications of quality. A backline including Craig Poucher, Nick Pinkney, Marvin Golden and Lynton Stott isn’t short on experience or pace; a pack including Makali Azue, John Aston, Dale Holdstock, Anthony Seibold and Frank Watene provides enough horsepower and go-forward to make most defences look twice.

But it’s at half back where the real brains of the outfit lie. Paul Mansson at out-half and Phil Hasty at scrum half provide a potent driving force for backs and forward alike. Limiting the amount of football these two play would be a good place to start.

It’s been a bit of a good news, bad news week for Bobbie Goulding. The good news sees the return to fitness of Michael Platt and the loan signing of former Warrington utility back Dave Alstead. The bad news sees the loss of Dave Newton for one week after his sending of against Doncaster and the loss of Andy Leathem for the season with a double hernia (ouch!).

Elsewhere, the Bobster will be looking to maintain the consistency that’s seen a marked improvement in performances in recent weeks.

More importantly, Sunday marks the end of a long summer on the road. Nine weeks without a home game has been a long hard slog for everyone at the club and it’d be good to get back to Spotland under any circumstances - but without doubt, Sunday’s game has the real tingle of two clubs with a point to prove.

On paper, the Robins have the sort of strong, settled squad that looks better than the sum of its parts, but it’ll be down to who has the heart for it. The spirit in the Hornets dressing room is there for everyone to see - and if it’s true that desire and enthusiasm takes you a long way in NL1, it might not be quite the result the RL fraternity expects.

If Hornets stand firm on defence and close down the Rovers half-backs, we give ourselves a fighting chance. And there’s always at least one upset a season - so why can’t it be us this week?

The fans have been superb on our ‘road trip’ - and now we can welcome the lads back in style. This s one game you really, really don’t want to miss - so we’ll see you there.

And not one mention of Paul Owen - ah... bugger...