Hull KR head coach Willie Peters has insisted his players and staff must stick to the process that they implemented in 2025, revealing how the learnings from the 2024 Grand Final loss helped shape their incredible success last year.
The Robins are set to play in their fifth major final in just four seasons under Willie Peters and whilst they lost the first two of those finals, the 2023 Challenge Cup against Leigh and the 2024 Grand Final against Wigan, the Australian head coach highlighted how it offered lessons to help them win both trophies in 2025.
Speaking to BBC Radio Humberside, Peters was asked if his players will have the opportunity on game day to take in the event of the Challenge Cup Final, something he quickly shut down by stating: “If they look what’s going on around them, they’ll forget what’s happening in front of them.”
Revealing why he felt so strongly about that, Peters added: “We got a lot of learnings from our ’24 Grand Final. We didn’t go to the stadium the day before. We went to the stadium on game day and I had staff and players looking around.
“We got beat by a better team. It was only 9-2 but we were a far a better team all season (than that performance). We got a lot of learnings from that. You go in and you look around, you do all that sort of stuff the day before and you enjoy that the day before so hen you get there on game day, you’re there to do your job.
“Last year was last year and this is a new year, so we know it works. It’s important that we stick to that process that works.”
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Hull KR and their recent Challenge Cup love affair
That process proved fruitful in both the 2025 Challenge Cup Final win over Warrington Wolves and the Grand Final victory against this weekend’s opponents Wigan, so it’s no surprise that Peters is sticking to script.
That script involves a captain’s run on Friday at Wembley, in which his players will take in the stadium as well as train, before it’s all systems go on Saturday at 3:00 pm as Hull KR contest their third Challenge Cup Final of the Willie Peters era.
Speaking about that, Peters said: “They’re all as good as each other, but for us, we respect this competition and we go after it every year.
“We’ve been in three finals and a semi-final in the last four years, so it shows every time that we take the field in a Challenge Cup game that we’re going out to win it, so no different this week.
“It’s a special competition, always has been, so much history, and we want to perform the right way. We give it the respect it deserves and what we have over the last four years.”
With those finals come more responsbility, not least to the team, the fans, and the city, but also to the media and when asked by the BBC at Tuesday’s media event, Peters explained why it’s actually a privilege.
The Australian said: “I always say never complain about doing these sort of things (if you’re not) it means you’re not in a position to be able to win trophies, so it’s all part of it.
“As you said, we’re really grateful to be here and give ourselves another opportunity again to write some history and create some history at KR.”
