"THERE'S only one Michael Dobson," sang the Rovers fans after their 28-18 win over Salford. And boy is he going to be missed next season when he returns to Australia to play for the Newcastle Knights.
Dobson, as so often has been the case when Rovers win, was the difference between the two sides.
He scored one of his team's five tries and had the final pass in three others as Rovers extended their winning run to five.
He also kicked four goals and came up with the important tackle on Lee Gaskell when the Salford full-back looked set to race away and score.
The response from the Rovers fans after the final hooter showed what they think of his contribution to their cause in the five and a bit years he has been at MS3 Craven Park.
The scrum-half seemed hell-bent on making sure Rovers go as far as they can under his captaincy.
Finding a replacement for the mercurial playmaker won't be easy, and at least the club have plenty of time. They will need every minute to find a player as influential though.
His calming influence was needed in the second half as the Robins trailed 18-6 after perhaps one of the worst halves of their season.
It started with Salford withstanding some early pressure on their own try line before turning the tables on Rovers.
After forcing a goal-line drop out from Dave Hodgson, who denied Martin Gleeson a try, Salford struck first.
Wayne Godwin spotted a gap in the Rovers defence and went over from dummy half to open the scoring. Marc Sneyd converted for an early 6-0 lead.
It was what Rovers deserved for their sloppy start.
Craig Hall made three errors deep in Rovers territory in the opening quarter while Alex Brown also dropped the ball near his own line.
Despite that, Rovers only found themselves trailing 6-0.
Midway through the first half, they were level at 6-6.
Dobson danced his way through the Salford defence to create the opportunity for Cory Paterson to finish the move off in style.
A try created and scored by two of the three players leaving at the end of the season was appreciated by the Rovers fans in the stands.
Graeme Horne, who signed a new two-year deal last week, should have given Rovers the lead in the 23rd minute but he was unable to take Travis Burns' pass close to the Salford line.
It proved costly as Salford marched the length of the pitch to score their second try on the back of a penalty.
A quick play-the-ball from Godwin again caused havoc in the Rovers defence as Stephen Wild scored. Sneyd added the extras as Salford led 12-6. Rovers' completion rate in the first half was poor as Salford finished the first half on top.
Theo Fages' chip was superbly gathered by Matty Ashurst for Salford's third try of the first half.
Sneyd converted but missed a penalty from the halfway line moments after Hall kicked the restart beyond the in-goal area.
For all their errors, Rovers were thankful to be only 12 points adrift on the scoreboard.
They needed a stern talking to by coach Craig Sandercock.
The way they started the second half suggested they got it.
Hall's restart was perfectly placed with backspin to confuse Gaskell enough to let it bounce.
When Ryan McGoldrick gathered the ball, he was offside.
From the penalty, Rovers went to their favoured left side where Paterson powered over for his second try.
The turning point came in the 58th minute when Salford were leading by six points.
Gaskell broke free and looked set to score and would have if it hadn't been for the tenacity of Rovers skipper Dobson.
He tracked back and hauled Gaskell to the ground to keep his side in the game.
Moments later, Rovers were level thanks to Dobson. He danced his way through as Salford's defence went AWOL.
Dobson's conversion made it 18-18 with 18 minutes to play.
Rovers were on a roll. And so was Dobson.
Again he directed play to the left hand side and while his pass was intended for Rhys Lovegrove, it bounced favourably for Hall to pick up and score to make amends for his first- half woes.
It gave the Robins their first lead but Dobson missed the conversion.
The reason Rovers have won their last five games is because of the half-back partnership between Dobson and Travis Burns.
Burns wasn't as influential as Dobson, but he did make his mark with nine minutes remaining to score the final try that confirmed Rovers win.
It may not have been Rovers' prettiest win of the season, but at his stage of the campaign, that doesn't matter. All that matters is the points you accumulate.
Rovers took their tally to 24, the same number as Catalan who sit uncomfortably in fifth, knowing they could be overtaken by Sandercock's men in the coming weeks.
The win did come at a cost with two-try second rower Paterson expected to be out for up to six weeks with an ACL injury to his right knee.
All being well Paterson should be back for the play-offs. After the disappointment of missing out last season, that will be music to the ears of Rovers fans this time around.Have you seen our new sport section?Bookmark hulldailymail.co.uk/sport for the very best and exclusive local content.
