I HAVE said from before the start of the season that I feared for Hull KR should they have to play any period of the campaign without captain Michael Dobson.
Now we will see just why, as he faces between two to four weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.
It will see him sit out Sunday's big clash with Castleford, and more than likely the derby with Hull FC, although I am sure that if there is any chance of him playing in that game at all, he will.
The impact of Dobson's injury on KR will be huge, of that there is no doubt.
I believe there isn't a more important player at any other Super League team than Dobson is to Hull KR.
His influence goes from being skipper, calling set plays, organising set plays, running set plays, kicking 90 per cent of KR's kicks, and being responsible for around 80 per cent of try assists. The list goes on.
Now, Rovers' trusty left side of Cory Paterson, Kris Welham and Dave Hodgson may well have to go looking for the ball, as opposed to it finding them with Dobson commanding so much possession.
As a result of his absence, the team's whole structure may have to change. It means players may have to take on extra responsibility, not just in the halves, at hooker and at full-back, but throughout the side.
Everyone must do their bit in order to gain valuable wins without their influential play-maker.
With Travis Burns still finding his feet in a new team, it will fall upon him, and perhaps Craig Hall, to get Rovers running.
This will be tough for Burns, as he is under a new coach and still learning new structures.
All this comes at a time when coach Craig Sandercock has admitted his side is finding the heavy going of early-season rugby tough. He says his side is desperate for the summer and faster grounds.
Sandercock will feel his smaller more agile, mobile pack can then mix it with the rest of Super League.
Read what you will into these comments, but I imagine Sandercock is publicly giving his players a break while behind closed doors giving them a real hard time about getting beaten up in the middle.
What is summer in this country anyway? He may get a couple of weekends here and there if he's lucky, but the majority of the 27 weekly rounds will be played in non-summer conditions.
To me, it suggests the coach is looking for more improvement from his middle men, less errors, less corner cutting in defence, less penalties and more of a platform for his halves to play behind.
It does not matter how good your halves are, if they are playing behind a well-beaten pack, and Burns, Dobson and Greg Eden need time and space to play.
