Hull KR find themselves in a place they’ve never truly been under Willie Peters before, following their miserable defeat to Leeds Rhinos in Las Vegas.
Since Willie Peters took charge of Hull KR ahead of the 2023 season, they’ve only suffered one defeat heavier than the one they took in Vegas, however, the circumstances were vastly different.
Wigan Warriors won 64-6 against Hull KR in August of 2023, with Matt Peet’s side running in one more try than Leeds did, although Willie Peters had made 13 changes ahead of the Challenge Cup Final.
As such, it cannot be compared meaning Sunday morning’s loss to Leeds Rhinos was undoubtedly the worst of the Willie Peters’ era. The only other one that would compare would be the 2023 play-off semi-final loss to Wigan.
Rovers lost 42-12 that day with the contest over inside 20 minutes, however, Peters had four months to prep his side to go again. Now, he only has a week to get his side back in the frame of mind whereby they become the dominant force we’ve been accustomed to.
How can Hull KR approach Super League return
A trip to Huddersfield Giants is what awaits Hull KR upon their return to England in a clash between the bottom two clubs in Super League, a very unfamiliar spot for the Robins in recent years.
Wigan had the same opponents when returning from Vegas last year, albeit at home, and they cruised to a 44-18 win but Vegas losers Warrington fell to defeat on the road against Wakefield.
The response for Hull KR has to be about performance as opposed to a win. Ideally both will go hand-in-hand but given what was dished up at Allegiant Stadium, Willie Peters will be more concerned about putting together a Hull KR performance.
That means massively reducing the number of missed tackles with a whopping 51, up 50% on their 2025 season average whilst their own number of tackle busts was down almost 50%.
Their opponents Huddersfield have struggled themselves in 2026 so far and a simple game of rugby league would win this for Hull KR, with effort and efficiency at the forefront.
The Robins have the luxury of playing Huddersfield twice in their next two fixtures with the latter a Challenge Cup game, affording Willie Peters’ side one game to get their performance levels right and a second game to build on and elevate their execution levels to the standard Hull KR fans have come to expect.
At that point, it’s about finding consistency as the impact of Vegas is something that troubled Warrington, who saw their season derail after the Challenge Cup loss to Hull KR.
