Willie Peters has given an update on the fitness of Hull KR centre Oliver Gildart as the club prepare for their first ever Super League Grand Final.
The Robins sealed their spot in the final game of the season on Friday night as they dug deep to edge out Warrington Wolves 10-8. Tries came through James Batchelor and Joe Burgess in the first half and KR then had enough to hold off a second half Warrington onslaught on what was a magical evening for the east Hull outfit.
Rovers had to do it all without centre Gildart, too, with the outside back missing the game due to a rib injury. Gildart sat out of KR’s final regular season game against Leeds Rhinos a fortnight ago but after being named in the 21-man squad, the expectation was that he would be involved against the Wolves.
However, it was Jack Broadbent who lined up on the inside of Ryan Hall, with Peters being reluctant to risk Gildart in such a monumental contest. Speaking after the game Peters provided the latest on the England international’s fitness, but failed to confirm that he would be fit enough to play his part at Old Trafford next weekend.
“He possibly could have played but we wanted to play players that were 100 per cent because it was a game where you needed to be feeling good,” Peters told the press after the game.
“We need to look and see whether we need to change that team. We need to look and see how Ollie is. That’s a discussion we’ll have on Monday with the staff and later on in the week we’ll make a call on that.
It was a gruelling and physical contest at Craven Park, but Rovers seemed to come through unscathed, meaning as it stands Gildart is the club’s only major injury concern as they prepare themselves to face either Wigan Warriors or Leigh Leopards next week.