Ben Galea (pictured) will captain Hull KR for the 2012 season, the Super League club have announced.

The 33-year-old Australian of Maltese descent, who joined the Robins from Wests Tigers in 2008, replaces Michael Vella who did the job for four seasons before retiring in September.

An NRL premiership winner with Wests Tigers in 2005, Galea will be assisted by half-back duo Michael Dobson and Blake Green, with new coach Craig Sandercock favouring Galea’s experience.

Galea said “I’m over the moon to be named as captain,”

“It’s been something that I’ve always wanted to do and I'm extremely grateful that Sandy (Craig Sandercock) has given me the chance to do so”

Galea added;

"We have a great group of players here and a strong group of leaders who I'm sure will give me great support.

"Hull KR is a club with a fantastic history that has had many great captains and I hope that I can do a great job for the club and its supporters in 2012."

Sandercock readily admitted that it was a tough decision to make having narrowed things down to three potential candidates.

"It was a very, very close decision between Benny, Michael Dobson and Blake Green," he said.

"All three of them have shown some outstanding leadership qualities since day one of pre-season training, but in the end Ben just got the nod because of his experience.

"He's played on the winning team in an NRL Grand Final, he has the respect of all the other boys and that just tipped the balance in his favour.

"I took my time over making the decision because it's a pretty important role in terms of being an extension of the coach on both the training field and on a game day. Benny is a very good player and a great professional and I'm sure he'll do a terrific job."

2011-12-22, 13:12