Hull KR head coach Willie Peters has revealed why star winger Joe Burgess missed out against Bradford Bulls, with his absence not simply down to rotation.
Burgess is Hull KR’s leading try-scorer in Super League with the winger having scored 10 tries in just seven appearances but he didn’t have the opportunity to extend that record on Saturday as he was a notable absentee in Rovers’ 48-12 win over Bradford Bulls.
It was common knowledge that Bradford were down to their bare bones in terms of fit players and with Willie Peters having admitted mid-week that he was open to rotating players, many assumed Burgess’ absence was simply a case of rest.
Speaking post-match to BBC Radio Humberside, Peters confirmed otherwise as the Hull KR boss revealed that Burgess has ‘not been too well’ and was in fact suffering with sickness.
He did concede that the club had planned to rotate centre Oliver Gildart, however, the ankle injury that he picked up last week in the win over Toulouse forced that change anyway.
Peters explained: “We did want to rotate so I didn’t plan to play Gilly (Oliver Gildart) this week but unfortunately, his ankle last week (forced that change). Hopefully, he’s okay for next week.”
As for Burgess, Peters revealed: “Joe hasn’t been well. A lot of us got a bit sick from Vegas and that hung around for three or four weeks but he’s got his now, so it’s hung around.
“He played through it last week but it was better that he had a rest today.”
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Hull KR man a chance of returning on short turnaround
In respect to Burgess’ chances of playing at home against Castleford on Thursday night, Peters said: “Hopefully, it’s nothing major but he needed a rest today. There’s a five-day turnaround so we’ll see how he goes.
“We’re in a good position at the moment. We want to rotate and give players an opportunity when we can. It was good to get Noah some time and I thought he ran nice and direct, he ran hard. I was happy with what he did.”
Asked if that shorter turnaround was a concern, Peters admitted that it was ‘not a bad thing’ as he pointed to the club’s meticulous plan when travelling to and from Toulouse, doing so all in one day courtesy of a private charter flight, as something that earned the club and players a well-earned rest last weekend.
“The short turnaround is not a bad thing. We had some time off last week so five days won’t hurt us.”
We leave Bradford with the WIN 💪#UpTheRobins🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/NbYkXX9IRx
— Hull KR (@hullkrofficial) April 25, 2026
