Hull KR boss makes bold claim after loss to Wigan Warriors

Hull KR head coach Willie Peters has laid down the gauntlet to Super League champions Wigan Warriors after his side’s narrow defeat to them.

The Robins dominated large periods of the game against Matt Peet’s side but discipline ultimately cost them as Wigan ran in four of their five tries whilst at a man advantage.

That was a result of Joe Burgess and Jai Whitbread being sent to the sin bin, late in the first half and around the hour mark respectively, with the Super League champions taking advantage and exposing gaps in the Hull KR defence.

It was a game that had to be assessed on the performance and not the result with Hull KR going “more than toe to toe” with Wigan, according to Willie Peters.

In fact, the Hull KR boss has laid down the gauntlet and stated that his side are eager to face Wigan again, something that could play out in the Grand Final.

“We went more than toe to toe with them. They’ll be looking over our shoulder, that’s for sure. We were in a really strong position in that game,” Peters told BBC Humberside after the 24-20 loss on Friday night.

Hull KR seeking Wigan Warriors revenge in the Grand Final?

It was a defeat that saw Hull KR sacrifice their lead at the top of Super League and with it, potentially the League Leaders Shield but there’s clearly a bigger focus for the Robins and that is the big one at Old Trafford.

As it stands, the two sides would be on course to face each other in the Grand Final with there being no chance that they meet before then in an earlier round of the Super League play-offs.

The prospect of facing Wigan again is something that’s appealing to Willie Peters who underlined his belief that his side were on top when the playing field was even.

He explained: “We’re looking forward to playing them again. When we had 13 on 13, I thought the players played extremely well. We didn’t handle the 12, that’s for sure.

“It was a good game, there’s no doubt about that. It was a really good game. It had a semi-final feel to it, the atmosphere was great, everything about the game was quality, I thought there were two good teams going at it. So it was a good spectacle for the game.

Next up for Rovers is a game against Leigh which is of huge importance, particularly after Warrington’s win yesterday meaning that Wire are in a position to possibly snatch second should Hull KR slip up.

All attention has now turned towards that difficult trip to the Leigh Sports Village, however, Peters couldn’t help but reference Matt Peet’s side again as he allowed himself to look forward to the play-offs.

“We’re playing Leigh next week and they’re playing extremely well so that’s our next focus but we’re in the finals and we’d like to have another opportunity to play a team like Wigan again.”

For that game against Leigh, the Robins could have Niall Evalds back after he missed the game against Wigan but there is concern about forward Sauaso Sue‘s wrist.