Rovers claim Hull victory

Barely a fortnight after his sensational move across the city, Cooke played a full part as Rovers scored a slender derby victory in the second match of the engage Super League's Millennium Magic weekend.

Cooke had a hand in early tries for Makali Aizue and Ben Cockayne under a closed roof in Cardiff and his new side held on after replies from Gareth Raynor and Sid Domic.

Hull have threatened Rovers with legal action over Cooke's signing and the whole saga of his move had made the 200th meeting between the two clubs one of the most rancorous.

The Black and Whites clearly missed Cooke's creativity but their loss is certainly Rovers' gain and his performance, which included three goals, helped Rovers snap their eight-match losing streak.

All eyes were on Cooke and he made an inauspicious start as he dropped the opening kick-off - much to the delight of the Hull fans - but he soon made a more telling contribution.

Barely four minutes had gone when he put in the kind of grubber kick Hull should have been all too familiar with for Aizue to pounce on for the opening try.

Cooke converted and added a penalty and things got even worse for Hull as Cockayne darted over for a second try after 24 minutes. Naturally, Cooke had a hand in the score with a clever reverse pass for Stanley Gene, who found full-back Cockayne in space.

Cooke's third goal gave Rovers even more breathing space and they looked comfortable as they approached half-time. Yet they switched off just before the hooter and paid the price as Hull finally pieced a meaningful move together in the 39th minute.

Gareth Raynor applied the finishing touch from Danny Tickle's pass with just 12 seconds remaining to give his side hope for the second period. Hull pushed hard as time ran out but they could not force their way over and Rovers held on to register their first win over their rivals since returning to the top flight.