Rugby League Coaching Manuals

And now they will play Huddersfield Giants next weekend with nothing to lose and everything to gain after pipping Castleford to the eighth place in the table as the Tigers went down to St Helens.

A night of high drama on the field began with drama off it as Rovers confirmed the signing of controversial Australian forward Willie Mason for next year.

They beat the Giants, for one, to his signature as he put pen to paper for two years and Rovers head coach Justin Morgan said: "We are delighted with Willie's signature. He is a high-profile player and he will add plenty to this team.

"But we have got to get 2010 out of the way first and now, effectively, our season starts all over again."

For KR, that means a play-off visit to arch rivals Hull FC in the first of the big winner-takes-all showdowns.

But the night belonged to the Crusaders who came from 18-12 behind, saw outstanding half-back Jarrod Sammut run the length of the field for one of the competition's tries of the season and took that crucial last play-off place from under Castleford's noses.

Noble said: "I thought (Rhys) Hanbury and Sammut were terrific tonight, complemented by the big men like (Lincoln) Withers and (Weller) Hauraki, who must be one of the best back-rowers in the competition."

He has no worries that the Crusaders can be competitive from now on. "One of my flaws in my character is that I believe you can do anything from anywhere," said Noble.

"Over the last ten or 11 years, if you play well on the day, you win. It is cup football from now on. In essence, we had our first warm-up game because it was trapdoor football for us. If we didn't win, we were out.

"We set ourselves a goal and I thought we did it the hard way at times tonight. It was probably fabulous to watch but not fabulous on the ticker.

"But I recognise absolutely how good Huddersfield are so we will have to be good to get them.

"You have to dream big. Life, in general, you have to have a vision and say 'I can take these blokes anywhere'. I still think I can and I have not lost faith in any of them."

Rovers contributed hugely to the night, with wing Peter Fox, full-back Shaun Briscoe, centre Kris Welham and back-rower Ben Galea all scoring tries.

It was 24-24 with eight minutes to go, with Crusaders' tries coming from O'Hara, centre Tony Martin, Hanbury and Sammut's amazing dash. Then full-back Clinton Schifcofske kicked a penalty to give the Welshmen the lead and, in a rip-roaring finale, wing Luke Dyer - a former Hull KR man - sealed the victory that created another piece of history for the Crusaders.