TONY Smith described the Wire performance against Hull KR as “pretty average”. A fair assessment really on a drab night on Humberside.

For 39 minutes, this game had nothing to excite, save for a good-looking Matty Russell try which was ruled out for a forward pass.

People were reaching for their phones to check on the Wales v Belgium Euro 2016 match, so poor was the rugby on show at the KC Lightstream Stadium.

However, two James Green punches on Jordan Cox and a subsequent red card from referee Michael Woodhead later, the game became electrified.

Down to 12 men, it was backs against the wall time for Hull KR but they immediately came out fighting as James Donaldson latched onto a short ball to crash over between the sticks.

Wolves were stunned and that feeling of shock may have been evident in their defending for the Robins’ second try, in which they somehow allowed a team with one man less to work a three-on-one overlap for Thomas Minns to score on the right.

Staring an ignominious defeat in the face, Wolves set to work and Russell was rewarded for an excellent display on the wing by showing great strength to shrug off the attentions of three Rovers defenders and score The Wire’s first try.

Smith then went for the “double pivot” in the middle as Daryl Clark and Brad Dwyer operated in tandem and it resulted in Wolves’ best spell of the match as they pinned Rovers down.

Dwyer grabbed a trademark close-range try to level matters and set up a fractious final quarter.

The 12 men hung tough, but their resistance was eventually broken by a bit of individual brilliance from Dec Patton, who put on an assured display in place of injured general Kurt Gidley.

He stepped and dashed away from the Rovers defence before feeding Jack Hughes with a flicked offload to score what should have been the winning try.

However, one badly-handled short kick off later and the hosts were back on the front foot and banging on the Wolves door.

Iain Thornley tried a clever kick through on the last tackle, but the bounce of Patton’s foot was kind and he dotted down to secure an unlikely share of the spoils for the home side.

They will rightly be pleased with their efforts, but for Smith’s men, “pretty average” won’t really cut it at the top of Super League.

MATCH FACTS:

Hull KR: Ben Cockayne; Ken Sio, Thomas Minns, Iain Thornley, Joe Wardill; Maurice Blair, Albert Kelly; Dane Tilse, Shaun Lunt, Mitch Allgood, Chris Clarkson, James Donaldson, Robbie Mulhern. Subs: George Lawler, James Green, Adam Walker, Kevin Larroyer.

Wolves: Stefan Ratchford; Matty Russell, Rhys Evans, Toby King, Kevin Penny; Declan Patton, Chris Sandow; Chris Hill, Daryl Clark, Ben Westwood, Jack Hughes, Ben Currie, Joe Westerman. Subs: Brad Dwyer, George King, Ryan Bailey, Jordan Cox.

Scoring: Donaldson try, 38 mins, Cockayne goal, 6-0; Minns try, 45 mins, 10-0; Russell try, 50 mins, 10-4; Dwyer try, 56 mins, Ratchford goal, 10-10; Hughes try, 74 mins, Ratchford goal, 10-16; Thornley try, 77 mins, Cockayne goal, 16-16.

Penalties: Rovers 10 Wolves 10.

Attendance: 6,827.

Top man: Matty Russell.

INTERESTING NOTES:

. The Wire’s first draw of the season.

. First draw between the two sides.

. Daryl Clark makes his 150th career appearance.

. Brad Dwyer scores in his third consecutive game in all competitions.