Hull KR head coach Willie Peters has explained the situation that saw Niall Evalds leave and Arthur Mourgue arrive at Craven Park, confirming that it was Catalans Dragons who approached the Robins about the move.
Mourgue had signed for Hull KR for the 2026 season, however, they have landed him early with the Frenchman arriving at Craven Park this week following Niall Evalds’ exit to his hometown club Huddersfield Giants.
Willie Peters has now explained the reasons behind the early exit of Evalds whilst explaining how that factored into the early arrival of Mourgue, as well as whether the ex-Catalans man will play this week.
Speaking to the media, Peters explained: “We were approached by Catalans to see whether we wanted to bring Arthur in earlier and then it was one of those situations where there was going to have to be a bit of moving parts but mainly it was going to be around Niall.”
Evalds, who was off-contract at the end of the season, was loaned to Huddersfield with that move allowing him to be closer to his family but also allowing Hull KR to act on Catalans’ approach.
Peters added: “If Niall saw it as an opportunity to obviously extend further seasons and go back to his childhood club and all that sort of stuff.
“He lives over that way so it worked out for Niall and we ended up doing a deal for Arthur to come here but yeah, it was initially Catalans’ approach just to see whether we’d look to bring him in earlier.”
Hull KR head coach explains Evalds exit and arrival of Arthur
Take a look at Mourgue’s first day as a Robin as he also discusses settling in to East Hull 🔥
Watch the full video on our YouTube Channel 👉 https://t.co/5ZBUisP3QT#UpTheRobins🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/zFwPiIs0Hh
— Hull KR (@hullkrofficial) March 19, 2025
It’s a major blow to lose Evalds but in Mourgue, Hull KR bring in someone who is younger and also of an elite level, whilst also speeding up their recruitment process by a few months.
That certainly softens the blow of losing Evalds who had signed for the Robins ahead of the 2024 season on a one-year deal before then extending it, but Peters revealed that recruitment for a replacement had started midway through last season.
He said: “Niall has done some wonderful things and he’s been great for us. There was probably a point last year where with the travel with Niall, he travels two hours plus a day, was starting to get to him a little bit.
“I sort of thought long term that Niall would probably end up going back and that was probably the first time that I went, ‘Okay, maybe we need to think about other options down the track’, which we did. We looked at Arthur.”
On his new recruit, the Rovers boss said: “I’ve been a fan of Arthur since I’ve been over here. I think he’s an exciting full back, his best strengths are his running game, but he can certainly ball play as well, he’s a goal kicker, and he’s still got his best footy ahead of him. So there’s a lot to like but Niall was an extremely valuable team member and a quality person as well and what he did for us, we’ll always appreciate that.”
In signing Mourgue, Hull KR added yet another versatile back who can play throughout the spine, similar to their ultimate utility man Jack Broadbent who was played at centre, full-back and in the halves.
“Yeah, it’s handy to have,” Peters admitted, before noting: “I mean, we’ve got that with Jack Broadbent, and now Arthur can play in the halves as well as fullback. I see Arthur as best suited at fullback, but certainly he can play in the halves.”
He did confirm that this week comes too early for Mourgue with Broadbent set to play full-back for Sunday’s home game against Leigh Leopards, a clash that sees Super League’s two unbeaten teams face off.
“This week I won’t make a decision, the decision has already been made. Jack will be our full-back for this week. Jack has earned the right to play this week. We want to ease Arthur into our system and ease him into a new environment.
“Certainly, we’ll be looking to play Arthur down the track so it’s one of those where we’re in a strong position to be able to have two good full-backs.
“At the moment Jack’s doing a great job and as I said he’ll be our full-back for this week.”
