Morgan salutes Welham development

Hull KR centre Kris Welham scored a hat-trick of tries in front of England coach Steve McNamara on Sunday and his club boss Justin Morgan immediately put part of his improvement down to his involvement with the national set-up.

Welham took his tally for the season to 15 as the Robins thrashed Bradford 46-18 at Craven Park, further underlining his position as the form centre in the competition alongside cross-city rival Kirk Yeaman.

With the International Origin game just under a month away, Welham looks a strong contender to make his England debut, and recently spent two days in camp with McNamara and the rest of the Elite Training Squad. "Kris has been very consistent this season and he's worked hard on his offensive game, which was shown by his execution," he said.

"When young players are given an accolade like a national team call-up, their focus can sometimes waver. However, he has benefited massively from his experience with England and you can see he's matured into a top-class centre."

Peter Fox, who plays outside Welham on the wing and is another member of the ETS, has found the going somewhat harder than his team-mate this season, and his late score on Sunday was his first try of the Super League season.

"I'm really pleased for Peter Fox as he's had a dry year, but hopefully this can open the floodgates," added Morgan.

While Morgan may now be looking forward after a sluggish first half of the season, Bradford coach Mick Potter admits he is already worrying about his side's chances of making the play-offs.

After a promising start to his time at Odsal, Potter is now picking over a six-game winless streak.

"We tend to overplay sometimes and come up with some rash plays. It isn't about a lack of effort; it's a lack of communication," he said.

"Once you start talking mathematically (about the play-offs) you start to worry, but it is still possible."