Hull KR forward Michael Vella insists his side got their just rewards after their dramatic win over Wakefield Trinity Wildcats at Craven Park on Saturday evening.

Ben Cockayne's last-minute try handed Rovers a 14-9 win over John Kear's men, when it appeared that Jamie Rooney's drop goal was all set to hand the visitors an undeserved win.

But 28-year-old Vella, who made his Rovers debut after his winter switch from Parramatta, believes they were worth the victory on their first top-flight appearance for 18 years.

‚"I and the rest of the side knew it would be tough,‚" he admitted. ‚"Wakefield came here ready to play and they had some big boys who like to play a physical game and that's the way it went.

‚"It was tough but it was nice to hear the crowd singing at the end. I'm not sure what it was but they helped us get over the line.

‚"It was cold out there, and I have never played in weather like that. But it's nice to get the first win of the season out of the way, and I thought we deserved it. We won't be chasing after it now and we can focus on backing up next week.‚"

Rovers travel to Huddersfield Giants next Sunday and will be looking to build on their opening-night success.

Coach Justin Morgan urged caution but insisted he was always confident his side could make the step up from National League One.

‚"I have always had the faith that they could make they step up,‚" he said. ‚"What they need to do now is sustain it.

‚"I thought there were some great contributions from all the side. I thought that Chris Chester on debut was absolutely outstanding at loose forward. He was very creative and defensively very sound.

"Jason Netherton was another, who played 80 minutes on the opening night of Super League. To do that is fantastic.

‚"I'm very pleased with what we did but I'm certainly not surprised. I knew that they were capable of doing it and I told them before the game that I had faith in them to go out and get the job done.

"We will regroup now and then go out and look to do the job again next week.‚"