Still reeling from the Challenge Cup Final defeat to Wigan Warriors, Hull KR head coach Willie Peters believes that Saturday’s clash with Wakefield Trinity is the ‘perfect game’ to respond with.
KR and Trinity both sit level on 16 points so a loss would mean that Willie Peters’ side slip to fifth in Super League, four points off first, but the Australian is relishing the tough test off the back of their Wembley disappointment.
“I think it is a perfect game to respond after the Challenge Cup because we’re playing against a very good team, so it’s a great opportunity for us,” the Hull KR coach said on Wednesday afternoon when speaking to media.
“We had a lot of players last week say that they were really disappointed with their game. They didn’t reach anywhere near the levels that they can and they should so I’m looking forward to the players doing that this week against, as I say, it’s a very good team.”
Peters is well aware of just how good Wakefield can be with Trinity handily beating the Robins 28-12 at Belle Vue last year in round 26, something the Rovers boss recalled: “They beat us convincingly last year at their place, so we know what to expect. It’s a perfect game to be able to perform well against a good team.”
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Hull KR players tasked with being hard to beat against Wakefield
The loss at Wembley marked the first time that Hull KR had shipped 40 points or more since their nightmare in Las Vegas, a game that the club responded to with big back-to-back wins over an injury-hit Huddersfield.
This time, KR face a hungry Wakefield and Peters is clear on what he wants from his players.
“I want them to be themselves,” he declared.
“I want us to be the team that everyone knows we are, what we’re all about, and that’s been a great teammate for each other. That’s leaving nothing on the field, whether you win or lose, that’s being hard to beat.
“Individually, I’m sure players can respond to what they want to see from themselves or get out of themselves, but as a collective, I want us to be hard (to beat).”
Looking back at Wembley, he assessed: “Forty points, that’s not us. The tries that were scored on the weekend were far too easy so I want us to be a team which we are, hard to score against, you’ve got to work hard to beat us.
“That’s what we’re building our game on, is working hard for each other and playing physical style, and that’s what we need to go back to.”
