Willie Peters responds to Shaun Wane over Hull KR star’s England snub

Hull KR head coach Willie Peters has questioned Shaun Wane’s reasoning behind not selecting Dean Hadley to the recent 32-man England squad.

Hadley was one of several Hull KR players who could likely count themselves unlucky not to be named to the extended 32-man squad on Monday.

However, Peters has only commented on the snub of Hadley given the fact Wane has publicly spoken on the second-rower and why he was not named.

Wane was quoted as calling Hadley a “good player” before explaining why the 32-year-old wasn’t named, stating: “He could probably hack it but he might not hack it. That’s just my personal choice.”

Willie Peters has now responded to those comments and offered a strong defence of Hadley, insisting that he certainly can ‘hack it’.

Speaking to the press, Peters said: “I saw Shaun’s comments around Dean Hadley and how he was not sure whether he’d hack it or not. That’s something I know Dean would be able to do regardless of who he’s playing, whether it’s against Australia, Samoa, Wigan, Huddersfield.

“He does it every week. He’s one of our first picks every week because he plays physical. His effort and the way he competes is as good as anyone in the competition.”

Hull KR boss backs Dean Hadley to ‘hack it’ against Australia after England snub

Hadley has missed just one game in Super League this year and been among the most consistent performers at Craven Park throughout Willie Peters’ tenure and the Australian has argued that Hadley would be more than capable of taking it to the Kangaroos.

Peters argued: “I know the Australians, if he did play against the Australians, I know Nathan Cleary on last plays would be feeling the heat from Dean Hadley every time he’s kicking the ball. I know when middles are getting tired in that middle for England, I know who would be cleaning up and it’d be Dean Hadley.

“I believe he would hack it, but I thought he would have been in the squad. I thought he’d worked his way into being in that squad. I can’t comment on the others because I’m not sure the reasons of why, but obviously we would like a few more, or a couple more.”

Conceding that Hadley isn’t perhaps the explosive option that some coaches look for, Peters pointed to his excellent work rate as he labelled him a ‘grafter’ who lifts the performances of those around him.

He added: “I just thought Dean would be suitable in that squad because he put a lot of pressure on others to make sure they’re at their best because he’s at his best every week and other players love playing with him.”

As for others who didn’t make it, Peters called for more of the same from his side with the likes of Tom Davies, Jack Broadbent and Joe Burgess all surely knocking on the door.

“Look, they’ve just got to keep doing what they’re doing. It’s disappointing, of course, for those players who aren’t in,” Peters said.

“I believe in terms of the squad, not the 17 because you need to work your way into that 17, but in terms of the squad, I would like to think that we would have a few more numbers in as well.”