Willie Peters likens Hull KR man to State of Origin star amid selection debate

Willie Peters has drawn comparisons between Jack Broadbent and State of Origin star Connor Watson as he ponders his selection dilemma. The Hull KR utilityman has proven his worth on a number of occasions already this season, with his versatility and skill coming in handy across the park for the Robins.

This season alone has has played at centre, full-back and on the wing, providing cover across the back line. However, with Arthur Mourgue arriving to take on the full-back spot and Rovers’ backline at full-strength once more, it seems Broadbent could well be the spare man again this week when KR take on Hull FC on Good Friday.

He’ll be involved, of course, most likely off the bench as he was last week against Wigan, but it’s fair to say the 24-year-old can feel hard done by to miss out on a starting spot.

Ahead of this week’s derby, a game that sees Super League’s top two go head to head once more after their meeting in the cup earlier this month, Peters has piled praise on Broadbent and likened him to Sydney Roosters’ Watson, who represented New South Wales on two occasions last season.

Hull KR boss compares Jack Broadbent to Sydney Roosters man Connor Watson

“The thing about Jack is Jack can play so many different positions,” Peters said. “He is of such value to us as a team. He can play pretty much any position. He can play full-back, wing, centre, he can play in the halves. You can put him in hooker. I haven’t used him in 13 yet, but could he be a link 13? I’m not gonna say no, because he’s a footy player.

“There’s so much value to that that he brings to the team. Arthur was our full-back last week. We’ll have a look at the team later on in the week but Broady is putting a lot of pressure on many players.

“He’s like our Connor Watson. Connor Watson is now getting recognised for his utility value for playing Origin and things like that. He’s very similar. I’ve worked with Connor and they’re very, very similar players.

“You can put him in many positions and they’re going to do a role for the team. The biggest strength that he’s got is he’s a competitor. So it’s not just about putting someone in a position and they just go through the motions, you put Jack in a position and he’s competing to win and that’s what it’s about.

“We’ll work out what it looks like in terms of rotations, who’s on the bench, but both players will be in the 17.”