Hull KR’s Lachlan Coote retires on medical advice due to concussions
The Hull KR full-back Lachlan Coote has retired with immediate effect on medical advice after a series of concussions over the past two seasons. The Australia-born player won three consecutive Super League titles with St Helens between 2019 and 2021 before joining Rovers before the start of the 2022 campaign.
The 33-year-old’s professional career also included international recognition with Scotland and Great Britain, in addition to spells with Penrith Panthers and North Queensland Cowboys.
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“After suffering another concussion at [the] Magic round, my fifth concussion in less than two years, I knew I was going to be faced with some tough conversations,” Coote told Hull KR’s website. “With all the support from my coach Willie Peters, Paul Lakin [Hull KR’s CEO], Neil Hudgell [the club’s owner] and the medical team at Hull KR, I have made a very difficult decision to retire immediately.
“Rugby league has always come first before anything, now I think it’s time to put my health, my future, my family first,” he added. “I’m still finding it hard to come to terms with this decision and it has been a very emotional few days, knowing that I will not get to play alongside my team-mates again and finish off what we started.”
Coote made 27 appearances for Rovers, who sit seventh in Super League after 15 games. He scored 161 points for the club, surpassing 1,000 career points during that time.
Peters, the Hull KR coach, said: “On behalf of everyone at Hull KR, we’d like to congratulate Lachlan on a wonderful 15-year career. Lachlan is a proven winner and will no doubt continue that into his retirement.
“It’s a sad situation for Lachlan having to retire halfway through the season. However, his health and family come first and the decision is the right one for him and his family.”
St Helens thrashed by Hull FC
Jake Clifford returned to inspire Hull FC to their first win over St Helens in 17 attempts as they shrugged off the painful memory of last week’s Challenge Cup defeat with a blistering six-try performance at the MKM Stadium.
Just five days ago Josh Griffin’s sending-off for dissent cost his side a realistic chance of claiming a rare win over Paul Wellens’ men but Clifford – who had missed the Cup tie through concussion – delivered a 14-point haul to seal a 34-6 thrashing of the world champions.
Clifford, who was yet to turn professional the last time Hull beat Saints in 2017, set the tone by scoring the first try with less than seven minutes gone and set up the clincher for Cam Scott, before Darnell McIntosh rounded the night off in style with a devastating 70-yard burst.
Saints had swaggered into east Yorkshire on the back of six straight wins and suggesting they had recovered their best form in impressive recent wins over Huddersfield and Wigan.
But they were distinctly second best all evening, the visitors’ misery was compounded by glaring errors from the usually dependable duo of Lewis Dodd and Jack Welsby as Tony Smith’s men effectively sealed their win by storming into a 22-0 half-time lead thanks to tries from Clifford, Carlos Tuimavave, Jake Trueman and Chris Satae.
James Bell responded for the visitors but Scott hit back for Hull and McIntosh added the gloss late on.