Hull CR manager Willie Peters said Mike Lewis “let his team-mates down” after being booked in his side’s 19-18 defeat by newcomers York Knights in the 2026 Super League season opener.
Lewis was sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes in the 61st minute for a challenge on York’s Liam Harris who sent his side chasing.
During that time, Sam Wood went over for his second try which Harris converted to make it 18-12 with 14 minutes remaining.
Then, just after Lewis returned to the field, Scott Galeano finished the kick and Harris slotted in a brilliant conversion to level the scores significantly.
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Hull KR’s Mikey Lewis is booked for sticking his leg out and tripping York’s Liam Harris
From there, the miraculous moments for the home side continued Ata Hingano dispatched his first career drop for a one-point lead and the Knights defended with all their might to hold off the reigning champions in the final four minutes to complete one of the biggest shock wins in Super League history as they defied the odds.
With the World Club Challenge against NRL champions Brisbane Broncos the next task for the Robins on Thursday 19 February, live on Ski Sportsthey face a nervous wait to see if Lewis will be able to play in the historic match for the club.
Peters pulled no punches in his post-match comments and was clear that Lewis had made his own bed so he “had to lie in it”.
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Hull CR manager Willie Peters says Lewis “let his team-mates down” by sticking his leg out and tripping Harris
“You get what you deserve in this game – and we certainly did. We didn’t play badly in the first half, it was bad discipline,” Peters said. Ski Sports.
“We applied a lot of pressure with the ball but we couldn’t score a try, which is fine, we did it at the back – a lot of penalties.
“What Mikey did, he let his teammates down and he’s got to learn from that. You’re going to have to ask him (what he thought), but he’s got to learn from that.”
“Whatever (the sentence) is, it is. I’m not really sure what the verdict is. You make the bed, you have to lie in it.”
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For Ski Sports Rugby League Jon Wilkin, that was the moment Lewis lost his cool and went back to a time before we were used to the more “mature” style we saw from the 2025 quarterback.
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“It started after the Whitbread try. Lewis turns to Harris, gives it to him,” Wilkin said.
“It’s not a quiet international, it’s a guy who has a lot of his own rags.
“If Harris did a professional job of breaking Lewis down and causing this reaction, fair play to him because he knew that reaction was very beneficial for York.”
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Watch Ata Hingano put the York Knights ahead with ONLY four minutes to go!
Sam Tomkins added that it was a funny moment, but it shouldn’t be overdone.
“That was a stupid play by Mikey. He’s an emotional player sometimes, he gets frustrated,” Tomkins said.
“But let’s not overdo it. Nobody got hurt, he’s got a big game next week and hopefully there won’t be any consequences.”
Ski Sports will once again show every Super League game live this season – including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining five matches each week Ski Sports+